


Promise of the Night

by Blueberrycat93



Category: Silverwing - Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Adventure, Animals, Bats, Fantasy, Gen, Self-Insert, Silverwing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-01-27 15:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 133,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21394189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueberrycat93/pseuds/Blueberrycat93
Summary: After getting lost in a forest Vanessa would never have guessed that an unsuspecting wish would suddenly catapult her into a world of talking animals and dangerous situations. Now shrunk to mouse size, she goes on an adventure with the little bat Shade to find the colony of the Silverwings. Will they make it before it's too late?(Self-insert, follows book & TV version + some changes)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	1. The raven and the pearl

Everything seemed calm as the sun was setting in the west and a fresh autumn breeze blew through the thick forest of southern Canada.

For many animals, it was now time to return to their caves, dens, and nests to get enough sleep for the next day. Only a few insects still buzzed around, utterly carefree until the nocturnal creatures would wake up to hunt them down for breakfast.  
Thanks to the wind, a small brown leaf, no bigger than a small child's hand, lost its grip on a branch and gently swirled back and forth through the air.

Before it could hit the ground, another stream of air caught the leaf, blew it away, and a raven with feathers as black as the night and sparkling blue eyes landed on its place between the roots of a large old maple tree.  
He scanned the surrounding area closely as if he was looking for something very important. But whatever it was, apparently there seemed to be no trace of it here just now. Nevertheless, the bird would wait, not bothered by the cold and the wind that rifled through his feathers and as long as it would take.

After a few minutes, however, he began to scratch his claws through the dirt, to fight the boredom, which was getting to him. By that he used his left claw while holding a small object to the ground in his right. It was a very important item that he knew he couldn't lose. Not until he faced the one he had been searching for all along and who was about to pass by any moment.

Suddenly there was a snap in the undergrowth, causing the raven to turn his head to see what was going on.

A tall creature stepped out from behind the trees onto the clearing, looking like nothing the raven had ever seen in his life before. Was this the one he was looking for the whole time? This odd creature standing right in front of him, wrapped in strange colored leaves and a tuft of long brown fur on its head?

For a brief moment, the raven did nothing but stared directly into the creature's olive-green eyes with his own sapphire blue ones. Then he blinked and rose into the sky.

Leaving behind a very confused looking young human girl in her early twenties.

* * *

_(A few minutes earlier)_

''Why don't you visit the lake in the nearby forest. It's such a great place to relax.''

Grinding my teeth, I stepped deeper through the thick forest and thought back to the wonderful advice of the receptionist of the hotel I checked in a few days ago.

Surely, she had been right about the place. It was indeed nice and relaxing to sit there in the midst of nature, just with the sound of animals around me and no other person bothering me. I truly enjoyed sitting there on the shore of the lake, reading a book and listening to some music on my cell phone.

Everything was just fine. Except for the fact that I had forgotten to check the time and got lost on my way back.

Seriously, how could I've been so stupid? Going into a, to me, unknown forest in a foreign country without either a map or a flashlight or something like that. Did I expect that it would be like a stroll through the park or what? I should have known that something like this would happen. Especially after the problems I had, finding the lake in the first place.

It was bad enough that my sense of direction was as bad as that of a pebble, but the advancing darkness just made it worse. It practically reduced my chances of finding a way out and increased the inevitability of having to spend the night alone in the forest. And that without a tent or sleeping bag.

The only things I had with me were the clothes on my body and a bag around my shoulder with some snacks, a water bottle, a book and my cell phone inside. There was nothing else to keep me warm in the cold night. My light brown jacket was too thin, just like the black sweater I wore underneath, as were my dark aubergine jeans.

Furthermore, my water bottle was practically empty, my cell phone battery at 0% and a single apple and some biscuits my last food supplies. How frustrating.

Nevertheless, I knew it wouldn't help me complain, so I did my best and continued my way through the thicket.

Several times I wiped away strands of my long dark brown hair, which the wind kept blowing cheerfully into my face as I stumbled across the roots and branches lying on the ground covered in colorful leaves.

From time to time I flinched at the sound of unexpected noises like the call of an animal or the cracking of wood, like when I broke a branch by stepping on it. With the expanding darkness around me, my surroundings began to scare me a little. More than ever, I wanted nothing more than to get out of the forest.

But then I joyfully found an opening between two trees and walked through, hoping that this was my way out. Instead, I came to a small clearing bathed in moonlight.

''How beautiful'', I thought, even though I was a little disappointed, and looked around until I spotted a small black bird right in front of me between the roots of a large maple tree. For a moment, I did nothing but stare at the bird as it stared back with its strange blue eyes. I wasn't sure if it was a raven or a crow, but it seemed to be something extraordinary. Never had I seen a raven or a crow with such eyes. Those I had seen all had black eyes, not blue ones.

Slightly puzzled, I held up this competition until the bird suddenly blinked and flew away. Still perplexed, I watched him fly away until he was gone. Then I sat down by the maple tree to rest my feet from all the walking.

As I sat down, I noticed something shiny under a leaf right next to me. Curiously, I wiped it aside and picked up a tiny pea-sized pearl with a lovely sapphire blue color that reminded me of the unusual eyes of the black bird. Had he lost this pearl here? If so, where did he get it and was it a real pearl or just a fake? Various questions went through my mind as I studied the pearl and rolled it between my fingers, but much less did I know what to do with it? It sure was beautiful, the little pearl, but since I wasn't really into little things like bugs or jewelry, I didn't feel like keeping it with me.

But before I could decide what to do with it, I heard a fluttering sound above my head and looked up into the sky. To my delight, I noticed a few bats flying above me through the night. Unfortunately, as quick as they came, as quick, they disappeared again.

I sighed, still looking into the dark sky and watched the stars appearing one after the other. Just for the moment, I allowed myself to ignore my miserable situation and just stared further into the starry sky hoping to see at least one more bat. But instead, I noticed something else. A bright light streaking across the night sky.

''No way!'', I called out in astonishment. Never in my life had I seen a shooting star. What luck!

Although I was completely lost, the day didn't seem so bad after all. First the relaxing afternoon at the lake, then bats and now a shooting star. However, I knew I couldn't remain here all night, but I wanted to observe the sky just for a little while longer. Maybe I was lucky to discover more shooting stars or maybe even another bat. But nothing.

''I wish I could meet a bat,'' I said sighing deeply and at first didn't notice something weird happening to the little pearl in my hand.

Then without warning, the jewel began to shine in a bright blue light. So bright as if someone was flashing a flashlight right into my face. Confused about what was going on, I closed my eyes tight so I wouldn't go blind while holding the pearl as far away from me as possible.

But the light grew bigger and brighter until it completely enveloped me with its bluish radiance. In addition, I started to feel a headache coming up, followed by another sharp pain in my left hand in which I was holding the pearl. It felt like someone just stabbed me with a hot needle.

I wanted to let go of the pearl and get away from the pain and the light but for some strange reason, I couldn't. It wasn't like I couldn't move or anything. Just that my hand wouldn't let go of the pearl. Instead of opening, my fingers closed tighter around the pearl as if they did not want to let go of it at any cost. No matter what I did, my hand stayed that way and didn't listen to me at all, while the pain grew stronger every second.

Eventually, it got so bad that I began to feel dizzy and collapsed right onto the ground in the middle of the forest.


	2. A talking Bat?

I awoke in sheer darkness and with a hell of a headache.

_''All right, what's going on here?''_ I thought, rubbing my head and looked around. At first, I couldn't remember what had happened to me. But after a few seconds of sitting there in the dark with my nerves slowly calming down, I eventually recalled my evening walk through the woods without a way out, the blue-eyed raven and the strange pearl that suddenly began to glow like a spotlight and then…

''I guess I must have lost consciousness or something'' I said to myself while still wondering where I was. This place certainly didn't look like the forest. On the other hand, it was so dark that I couldn't even see my own hand in front of my eyes.

Close to me did I discover a soft light spot and carefully started moving towards it. Fearing to bump against something, I crawled forward on all fours, noticing something soft and fabric-like under my fingers. Before I could examine it any further, I eventually reached a kind of opening and stepped outside. Taking a short glance around, I realized that I was still at the same small clearing.

Time must have passed while I was knocked out because it was already deep at night. Everything around me was dark and quiet except for a few bugs buzzing around some flowers nearby. Strange. Was it just me or did these flowers look a little bigger than they were supposed to be? I looked more closely and also noticed how not just the flowers but everything else around was much taller than I remembered as well.

''What the hell...?''

Moving a bit, I heard a crackle under me and look down on a carpet-sized leaf right under my bare feet. How strange... Wait! Bare feet? What happened to my shoes?

With an uneasy feeling and increasing confusion, I slowly took a full glance down on myself. As expected, I was missing not only my socks and shoes but also all my other clothes as well. In other words. I was stark naked.

''WHAT THE HELL?!''

Totally shocked I instantly covered my private parts with my arms and hands and searched around for my missing clothes. What had happened to them and what was that for a strange cave I…? Oh!

Turning around, I noticed that the so-called cave was actually the sleeve of my black sweater, which meant there could only be one logical explanation for what had happened to me. I got shrunk.

... Wait! ... WHAT?

How on earth was that even possible? That made no sense. People couldn't just turn into mouse-sized versions of themselves. Well, maybe in movies or something, but not in reality. Had someone shot me with a shrinking ray or ... Wait a second! ''The pearl! The blue light must have done that to me,'' I said feeling sure about it, even though it sounded pretty crazy. But it was the only explanation I could think of. Unfortunately, after taking another quick look around I realized that the pearl was nowhere to be seen. Either it was hidden somewhere under my huge clothes or it had vanished into thin air. Anyhow it was gone.

''Just great. Now what?" Feeling helpless about my situation, I sat down on my sweater and thought about what I should do now. First I got lost and now I was shrunk and naked. Could this get any worse?

Yes, it could.

A loud cawking noise from above made me glance up. A black bird fluttered down and landed a few steps from me on the forest floor. It was a raven, just like the one I encountered earlier. But this one had regular black eyes, not bright blue ones. For a moment, the raven just stared at me and I stared back. Then, without warning, he croaked again and stormed straight towards me.

With a yelp I jumped out of the way just before the raven could impale me with its sharp beak and watched him dug a hole in my sweater instead.

''Hey stop it! I'm not a bug,'' I shouted outraged, as the bird started another attack without listing to me. As fast as I could, I run away from the raven, hoping to get rid of it somehow. But It wasn't long before I started to ran out of air. Fortunately, I found a small hiding place under a bush.

''That was close," I said in relief as I crawled underneath, gasping for air. I wondered if I had escaped the raven, but didn't dare to check. I had no interest in running any further in case it was still after me. Especially with no clothes on. What was its problem with me, anyway? Looking around, I spotted a pile of large green leaves right next to me.

''Hm, maybe those could be useful to me?'' I thought out loud and tore off two great leaves to wrap them around my body. Then I plucked a few long and strong looking grass stalks and bound them around my waist like a belt to keep my leaf dress in place.

''Much better'', I said happily looking down on myself. It was simple and definitely not made for the cold but at least better than nothing.

Just as I finished, I heard the familiar cawing again, and it sounded close.

''Oh, not again,'' I said and tried to hide deeper under the bush. But the bird dashed inside, not caring about the undergrowth that ruffled its feathers.

I rushed out and towards another hiding spot but before I could even find one I got grabbed by two big and sharp claws that grasped my arms and pulled me up high into the sky.

''WHAAAA! NO! LET GO!'' I screamed in fright and wriggled wildly in the bird's grasp.

Unfortunately, the raven didn't seem to do me the favor, so I did the first thing that came to my mind and bit the bird right into its foot. Screeching in pain it finally let me go and I realized the fatal mistake of my plan. Like a hailstone, I fell straight to the ground and promptly into a tree where I fell deeper and deeper, grazing branches and scratching my arms and legs. Eventually, I managed to grab a thin twig of the lowest branch of the tree. Stopping my fall.

For a moment I just hung there and took a deep breath while a shiver ran over my spine because of the shock. Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, I tried to climb up the twig and onto the branch. But my fingers kept slipping off the wood.

''Ngh, now come on...!'' Desperately I dug my fingers deeper inside and tried to ignore my racing pulse and the impending panic caused by the height.

''All right Vanessa'', I tried to calm myself. ''You are almost there. Just a little bit fur...Yikes!'' Again, my fingers slipped, so I hastily wrapped my arms and legs around the twig in fear of falling down. The twig trembled violently under my weight while I clung to it like a sloth.

A very scared to death sloth by the way.

Since I had no idea what to do now, I just closed my eyes and wished myself far away. But then I quickly reopened them again hearing an ominous cracking sound.

This twig was definitely too thin to hold my weight any longer. Desperately I hoped it would last just a little bit more, but it did not. With a soft crack, the twig finally lost its grip on the branch and broke off. I almost screamed and already saw myself bursting onto the ground like a raw egg.

Then I felt an unfamiliar hand grasping my own.

''Don't worry, I got you,'' a masculine-sounding voice said above me and pulled me up on the branch.

I wondered who that was, but also let the stranger pull me up and then just sat on the branch, sighing in relief. I was still not safe, but at least I wasn't dangling in the mid-air anymore.

''Are you alright?'' my savior asked me and I looked up to see who it was. No idea what I had expected to see but definitely not what I then saw right in front of me.

What I saw was a bat. A male to be exact with light blue fur, darker colored wings, a creme-colored mane around his neck and a dark blue goatee growing on his chin.

With his deep yellow eyes, he looked down at me waiting for an answer.

''Uh...I'm fine,'' I told him, my voice barely a whisper. I felt amazed and slightly freaked out by the sight of a real bat so close to me. I mean a talking bat. How on earth was that even possible? On the other hand, after everything that happened to me today, let alone the fact that I somehow had gotten shrunk, it shouldn't surprise me at all. But still…

''I am fine. Thank you,'' I repeated myself more clearly but noticed in his mimic he wasn't buying my words.

''You sure?'' he asks, raising an eyebrow, ''you look kinda shocked. Then again, I shouldn't blame you. You almost dropped to your death. May I ask what you were doing on that twig, anyway?''

''Well, I ... There was this raven who tried to kidnap me ... I think. So ... I bit its foot to make it let go of me which in the end wasn't such a good idea because we were flying high above the sky. Luckily, I managed to grasp the twig to stop my fall.''

''I see,'' the bat said thoughtfully then shrugged ''Well, at least you are safe now. That's the main point.''

''Hehe, yeah...safe.'' I clenched my teeth not fully agreeing with him on that matter but said nothing.

''Excuse me, but may I ask you something?'' he inquired, causing me to look at him again.

''Ehm, sure. What is it?''

''What are you?''

I felt speechless for a second and wondered if I should tell him the truth but then again what else could I say?'' I am a human,'' I told him.

The bat looked at me in surprise. ''A human? But those are giants and you are ... well no offense but you are surely not the size I imagined humans to be,'' he said.

''Yeah, that's kind of a long story but I really am a human even though I'm not as big as I should be.''

He still seemed puzzled but asked no more questions about it. ''Well, alright then, human. Do you have a name?''

''Sure, it's Vanessa.''

''Nice to meet you, Vanessa. I am Mercury, messenger, and scout of the Silverwing colony,'' he introduced himself, smiling friendly. I blinked. Messenger? Silverwing? What was that supposed to mean? But before I could ask, there was a sudden growling sound coming from my belly. This reminded me: I had eaten nothing since noon beside the snacks I had with me on my pick nick by the lake.

''Was that your stomach?'' Mercury asked with a nod towards my belly.

''Eh, yes. It's been a while since I've eaten something.'' I said, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had heard it too.

''I see but having an empty stomach isn't so good during this time of the year. If you want, I could catch you something to eat,'' he offered.

''Oh, ok sure, but you really don't have to.''

He smiled at me. ''It's alright. I just want to help, besides I kind of doubt you are able to get food for yourself,'' he said and looked at me as in checking my body size.

Now I started to feel slightly offended. What did that mean I can't get me some food by myself? I would've loved to show him how wrong he was with that. But on the other hand, he was probably just talking about the fact that I couldn't go anywhere. Unlike him, I had no wings, so I was practically stuck on that tree we sat on.

Mercury looked around with a slight frown on his face. ''Hm, there is still some time to get you some food but I think I should take you to my colony first.''

''Why?'' I asked ''Uh, I mean wouldn't that make an uproar when you come back with a human?''

He thought about it for a moment. ''That might be true but you definitely need help. And I'm not that kind of a guy who would leave a person in distress,'' he said, ''Besides, no offense Vanessa, but you don't look very dangerous to me.

''Ehm, ok but how do we get to your colony? I mean I can't fly so...''

''Just climb onto my back. I'll carry you over,'' Mercury said and bend down a bit. I hesitated for a second but then climbed on. Soon after he stretched out his leathery wings and jumped back into the air. I did my best not cling on him too tight and shut my eyes until I felt him landing again.

As I opened my eyes, I noticed that we were on a branch of another tree with a round opening in front of us which I assumed to be the entrance. I climbed down from Mercury's back and heard him asking me once more if I was feeling alright. He probably thought the greenish color in my face was because of the nervousness about what might happen next. I just told him I was ok whereupon Mercury nodded and then walked into the tree. I hesitated a moment, wondering if this was really a good idea, then followed him inside.


	3. Council of elders

It was pretty much dark inside. Darker than outside to be exact and I needed a while before my eyes got used to the faint light coming from the entry. But then I saw a giant hollow space with lots of ledges in different sizes going around the mossy tree walls from the bottom to the top.  
Hundreds of bats were either flying around or just roosting upside down on the mushroom-shaped ledges.  
I started to feel nervous watching them all and couldn't help but felt like most of them wouldn't be thrilled to see someone like me entering their home.  
  
''Now, just wait here for a moment Vanessa. I have to inform the elders about your arrival. It won't be long,'' said Mercury before flying up to the top of the tree, leaving me behind on the ledge near the entrance.  
I tried to stay calm while waiting for him to come back. Still, I felt the gaze of dozens eyes peering down at me with curiosity and worry. The tension grew even bigger the more bats notice me and soon I heard them whispering to each other.  
  
''Do you see that?''  
  
''What is that?''  
  
''Is that ... a human?''  
  
''Aren't they supposed to be bigger?''  
  
''What's a human doing here in our home?''  
  
''Hey!''

I gasped and turned around to see a small young male hanging upside down from the ledge above me with a friendly smile on his face. He had light blue fur and blond hair.  
  
''Ehm ... hi,'' I greeted him back, unsure what else I could say.  
  
The bat who I assumed to be a teenager in human age looked down at me curiously with his light green eyes. He probably had never seen a real human in his life before, judging the interest in his eyes.  
  
''You must be new here,'' he said. ''I saw you coming in with Mercury. What's your name?''  
  
''Vanessa,'' I told him.

''Nice to meet you, Vanessa. I'm Shade. Say are you really a human?’’ he asked, glancing at me doubtfully.'' I thought they are supposed to be much bigger.''

''Well, yeah but the thing is...'' But before I could tell him my story, I got interrupted by the concerned voice of an adult female. ''Shade!'' she called out and then I saw her flying down next to him on the ledge. Her fur was dark purple and her hair was orange-red and surrounded her face and chest like the mane of a lion.

''There you are. I've been looking all over for you,'' she said with a stern look in her eyes, before embracing him with her wings.

''Mom, I'm fine,'' Shade protested and wiggling out of her embrace. ''I was just speaking with our guest here.''  
  
''What guest?'' Glancing down, she lets out a small gasp, noticing me and backed away while folding her wings protectively around her son.

Annoyed about his mother's behavior Shade once again struggled out of her grip. ''Mom, what are you doing?''  
  
''Shade, humans are dangerous. You never know what they're up to,'' she explained to him while watching me warily as if expecting me to suddenly attack them or something.

It made me feel awful. Then again, she had a point. Animals should be wary of humans, just as humans should be wary of wild animals.

But what kind of danger could I pose with my current size? I was almost as big as them and all on my own, while the bats were definitely in the majority here.  
  
''Mom, look at her. Does she really seem dangerous to you?'' Shade asked. Probably thinking the same.

I glanced up, noticing Shade's mother still watching me thoughtfully. A moment later she turned back to her son and sighed softly. ''That doesn't matter Shade,'' she said, ''It's more important someone informs the elders about this human in our home.'' Right then Mercury came back and landed next to me on the ledge.  
  
''Alright, Vanessa. I've informed the elders about your arrival.''

''Mercury, do you know this human?'' Shade's mother asked him confused. He nodded.  
''Yes Ariel, I recently met her in the forest. But I don't have time to talk right now. Frieda wants to see her.''

_''See me. But why?''_

Ariel still seemed unsure about my presence, but then nodded. ''Well, I suppose you have your reasons to bring her here Mercury,'' she said.

''I'll tell you more about it later but now we have to go. The elders are waiting,'' he started to sound impatient now whereupon Ariel nodded and turned to leave. ''Come Shade!''  
  
''Can't I go with them?'' he asked, ''I'd like to know what the elders want from her.''  
  
''I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Now come.''  
Grumbling in disappointment, Shade followed his mother up to their roost  
  
''Now then, please follow me, Vanessa,'' Mercury said, and I quickly grabbed his arm before he could fly up again, causing him to look back at me.  
  
''Aren't you forgetting something?'' I asked. ''I can't fly remember?''  
  
Mercury face-palmed himself. ''Oh right. Sorry about that. It totally slipped my mind,'' he admitted and then bend down like before. ''Just climb on my back. I'll carry you up then.''  
  
''Ehm, ok,'' I replied and as soon as I sat on his back Mercury flew up the trunk. The higher we went, the more grateful I was to be unable to see the bottom below. Only my feelings reminded me I was way too far away from the ground. I tried my best not think about it so much and also tried to ignore the eyes of hundreds of bats looking at me as we passed by.

We flew past countless aisles and ledges until we reached the upper regions of the tree.  
The queasy feeling in my gut intensified by the thought of standing in front of a group of wild bats, answering their questions.  
I knew I should have been pleased. After all, I had always wanted to see real bats up close. But the fact that I, for some reason, could communicate with them, gave me the unpleasant feeling of being in front of other people from my kind instead of animals. Not really something I appreciated.  
  
Eventually, we arrived at the highest spot of the tree and Mercury landed on another ledge that grew a bit further into the middle.

After I climbed down from his back, he swung back into the air and flew up to another ledge far above me, were four older females hung together, chatting quietly.

Mercury flew straight to the largest of them and whispered something in her ear before landing back next to me on the ledge.  
Nervously, I watched how the four elders flew down from their roost and down on top of another mushroom-shaped ledge right above me.  
Despite her apparently high age, they all looked healthy and vigorous. Surely they were all still skillful hunters like the younger bats in the colony.

''Human. Please, step forward,'' said the tallest of them and I obeyed. ''My name is Frieda Silverwing. I am the chief elder of this colony and these here are the other elders Lucretia, Bathsheba and Aurora.''

With an expanding gesture, she motions towards herself and her colleagues. The fur on her head and arms were in a light brown-grey color while the main fur was rose-colored and like a long sleeveless dress going from her dark brown mane down to her feet. Her wings, however, were dark purple and her hair long and white with grey tips.  
On her left stood Lucretia. She was almost as tall as Frieda with dark, grayish-purple wings and mauve colored fur. She also had a tan-colored mane and long cotton white hair, which looked almost like Frieda's but without the long bangs over her shoulders.

On Frieda's right stood Bathsheba and Aurora.

Bathsheba was the smallest and pudgiest of the four. She had dark grey fur and wings, a silver-grey mane and white-colored hair. Aurora, who seemed to be the youngest, was a plum-colored bat with a grey-white mane, wine-red wings, and silver hair.  
  
They all looked at me with friendly but curious eyes, except for Bathsheba. She was the only one who stared at me coldly, making me feel unwelcome.  
Luckily Frieda seemed to be more hospitable than her.

''My child. Mercury told us he found you in the forest after you fell from the sky. Is this true?'' she asked me but instead of responding I just stood there in blank astonishment, wondering if this was all real or just a dream while I'm actually still lying unconsciousness somewhere in the forest.

''Talk when you're asked to, Human!'' Bathsheba snapped, pulling me out of my daydream.  
  
''Bathsheba!'' Frieda stared at her with a frown, ''Watch your tongue. That's no way to talk to our guest.'' 

The chubby eldest stood the gaze of the chief elder unmoved. 

''Our guest, you say? I don't think anyone here would invite a human into our colony,'' she said.

''I did,'' Mercury confessed while glaring challengingly up at Bathsheba.

''And why, if I may ask, did you bring someone like this into our home? Is there any reason for you to bring such danger to our colony?''  
  
''I beg your pardon Bathsheba but I don't think we have anything to fear from her. Just look at her. What threat could she pose to us?''  
  
Bathsheba shook head. ''As our messenger and scout, it is your duty to keep the colony safe from all harms. This human might be small but who says she didn't just shrink herself temporarily and only waits for the right moment to grow big again and kill us all?''  
  
''Bathsheba I think you're overreacting a here,'' Aurora remarked with an amused smile, earning her an angry glare from the other elder.  
  
''Definitely not,'' Bathsheba spat, ''A Human should not be around here and listen to what we are talking about.''

Aurora gave out a brief laugh. ''Please, calm yourself. We don't even know if she can understand our language.''  
  
''Oh, she does understand our tongue. I just talked with her recently,'' said Mercury.  
  
Aurora blinked. ''Really? How fascinating. I've always thought humans and animals can't understand each other.''  
  
''Then why don't we just pause this discussion and let her answer our questions?'' asked Lucretia with a somewhat irritated undertone.

Aurora nodded. ''You are right. Please, human tell us your name and what you are doing in our forest?''

I took a deep breath, unsure how to start. I already felt like they wouldn't even believe a word I was going to tell them. ''My name is Vanessa and yes I am a human, '' I explained to them, ''Why I'm able to understand you all is… quite a mystery to me as well. You see: I got lost in this forest and came to a clearing where there was this raven with unusual blue eyes and a small pearl in the same color. This pearl suddenly glowed in a bright blue color, and the next thing I know is that I woke up and was small like this.

Then there was this other raven who attacked me for no reason and dragged me up into the air. I freed myself by biting its foot, but this caused me to nearly fall to my death. Fortunately, I landed on a tree, where Mercury was there to pull me up before I could fall even deeper.''

''That's right. Afterward, I brought her here since the sun is rising soon and I didn't think it would be the right thing for me to just leave her there in the opening all by herself. Being so small and without wings to fly how would she be able to get down or even survive in the first place?''

''Fine, but what do we care?'' Bathsheba responded. ''She is not one of us. An intruder. Who knows if she is telling us the truth at all?''  
  
Lucretia nodded. ''I must admit. I have never seen or heard about a raven with blue eyes or of a pearl that shrinks people.''  
  
''Lies or no lies that don't matter,'' Aurora declared. ''The fact is, she won't survive even one night out in the woods. Not without help, just like Mercury said.''  
  
Bathsheba was shocked. ''You don't suggest keeping her here with us, do you?'' she asked while staring at the other elder. ''A human in our colony?!''  
  
I turned away, feeling mortified by Bathsheba's harsh words. Why did she have to be so mean? I did nothing to her or the colony. 

What a disappointment. 

It had always been my dream to meet bats but now…

Actually, I shouldn't feel too disheartened. If animals could talk to me like humans could, then it was only natural for me to recognize some human characteristics in them. Still, it was not in my attention to stay here while they talked about me like that. Rather would I tried my luck alone in the forest and looked for a way to turn myself back.

I quietly tried to sneak away while the four elders were still in discussion about me. I know it wasn't a very nice move from me, but it's not like they even cared. But before I could even think about how to get off the ledge, I suddenly felt Mercury's hand stopping me by grabbing my wrist.

Slightly surprised, I turned around and saw him looking at me seriously. Was he angry at me for trying to go away without saying goodbye?

''Don't listen to what Bathsheba says,'' he said with a smile, ''We are not so inhospitable like she makes you think we are. We won't kick you out just like that. There is nothing you have done wrong.''  
  
''Exactly.'' I gulped and looked back up to see Frieda looking down at me with her lime green eyes. Had she noticed my attempt to leave or did she just ignored it? '' We Silverwings don't let anyone down. No matter if animal or human.''  
  
''Thank you, Frieda,'' I said while ignoring Bathsheba's indignantly snorts. ''That's ehm... very kind of you but I don't wish to be a burden to someone.''

''Don't worry my child, you aren't,'' Frieda said with a soft smile on her face.  
  
''Alright but ... it's true I can't stay here for long. I have to find a way to change myself back to my original size.''  
  
''I know my dear, but don't worry. I may know someone who might be able to help you.''  
  
''Really?'' She nodded. ''Yes, but he lives in a city a few nights far from here. Lucky for you, in just a few weeks it is time for us to start our journey to our winter roost. You may come with us so you can meet him.''  
  
''That's wonderful. Thank you very much.''  
  
Bathsheba was outraged, ''Are you out of your mind Frieda? She is not like us. She has no wings. How will she move from place to place or hunt her own food? She will be just a nuisance.''

''I've decided that she stays,'' Frieda said glaring at her. ''And I won't change my mind on that matter just because she isn't a bat like us.''

''Frieda you know I'm mostly on your side,'' Lucretia interfered seeming unsure about this, ''and I also don't wish to send her away and be responsible for her possible death but Bathsheba has a point.''

''That's right.'' Aurora added, sounding unsure about this as well, ''On her own Vanessa won't be able to go somewhere without help. She cannot fly. And climbing from place to place would probably take too long as well to find food or to get back home before the sun comes up.'' 

The chief elder put a hand on her chin, thinking about this.

''And don't forget about the owls,’’ Bathsheba mentioned, ''I doubt they will be happy to hear about a human living with animals and understanding their tongue.''

  
I felt confused. Why should owls be bothered about me? This was very weird. 

''My friends you are right. Those are problems we cannot ignore, but they also won't have an impact on my decision. Vanessa stays with us until she finds a way to turn herself back to her original size.''  
  
''But ...?'' Bathsheba tried to object but Frieda stopped her again with a wave of her hand and continued to speak. ''Mercury, since you are the one who brought her to us I ask you to take care of her.''  
  
The messenger blinked in surprise by that request. ''Of course, Frieda but what about my duties? I cannot neglect them.''

''I know, therefore you are free to choose anyone to assist you in this task. But I think Vanessa should have you as the main contact for problems and questions.''

He thought about this for a second and then nodded. ''Alright. I will do it, Frieda.''

Somehow I started to feel like a foundling while listening to them talking about me.

''But there's still the problem with the owls,'' Bathsheba pointed out. 

Frieda nodded and looked down at me with concern. ''I'm afraid as long as we don't know what to do about this, you must stay here inside tree-heaven. Day or night. The risk that other animals will report your presence to the owls is too high. I hope that’s okay with you?''

I nodded biting my lower lip. Actually, I didn’t fully agree with being trapped in a dark tree, but what else could I do? Besides, I had always been an indoor person, so how bad could it be?

After everything, was settled, Mercur, and I were released and went back down to the other Silverwings.

He then landed on a ledge not too far from Shade and his mother Ariel. In the wall next to us was a small crevice and behind it a narrow room that was big enough for me to sleep without fear of claustrophobia. On the opposite was a tiny hole where I could look outside. The only thing missing was a comfortable bed, but I guessed I had to get used to sleeping on plain wood.

''I hope this place is alright. Otherwise, I could look for a better place for you to stay.''

I shook my head. ''No, that's fine, Thank you.''

''Alright. Now if you'll excuse me. I'll be right back.'' And with that, he flew back out of the tree without saying why.

While I waited for his return, I sat down in my little chamber and took a glimpse outside through the hole in the wall. According to the light, it was just before dawn. 

I still couldn't believe what had happened that night and wondered if, once I had fallen asleep, I would wake up in my hotel room, believing everything to be nothing but a crazy dream.

Soon after I heard wings flapping again and turned around to see Mercury returning with a few leaves and something indefinable in its claws.

''Here, this is for you,'' he said and handed the leaves and the thing which to my horror was a dead hairy moth, over to me. ''Something I thought you could use to make yourself feel comfortable and some food.

Part of me wanted to eat the leaves and use the bug a blanket or room decor or something. But I knew this wasn't exactly what Mercury had in mind.

I generously took his gift while trying my best not to show how disgusted I was by the idea of eating an insect. I knew I should have told him that humans don't eat bugs, but I didn't want him to fly out again just because I wouldn't even try it.  
Seriously, how hard could it be?

_''At least it's dead.'' _

Preparing for the worst I pulled the moth up to my mouth and took a small bite.  
  
It was disgusting. Never had I eaten anything so awful like this. I had to use all my willpower not to spit everything out again and chewed down as fast as possible while trying not to touch too much of it with my tongue.  
Yet, I ate it up. Not only because of all the eyes I felt watching me eating the bug but also because I was starving and the moth filled up my stomach pretty much.  
  
After my meal I let out a soft yawn, realizing how tired I was. Being awake the whole day and almost the whole night it was time for me to get some rest. Therefore, I said good day to Mercury, crawled back into the crevice and went to sleep, using the leaves as a blanket and makeshift bed. 


	4. Law Breaking

The following nights I stayed inside, keeping my promise not to leave the tree no matter what.

I occupied my time with watching the forest through my little window and carefully walking around the ledges. I figured that they were all connected with small bridges between, by which I could move around. Also, since I was now asleep on the day and awake on the night, my vision got more used to the dark. Yet I couldn't see enough to run around without fear of tripping off the edges.

Whenever it was possible, Mercury kept his promise in visiting me before he needed to be back on his duties. He talked with me about many things and also told me stuff about the history of the Silverwings and their home called Tree-Heaven. A vast, ancient oak, once stroke by a lightning but still standing on the bank of a lake by which I wondered if it was the same lake where I had my picnic on.

Mercury explained that the oak was the Silverwings nursery. All females lived here with their young while the males spent the summer in a place called Stonehold. A small canyon around two nights far from here in the east.

Every winter, both groups would come upon for the long journey to Hibernaculum, where they would sleep through the cold season until it gets warm again.

As I asked him why he was living here then instead with the other males, he explained it was tradition, that each spring one of the males gets chosen to become the females scout. That male had to live with them during the summer and had to make sure the females and their young were alright and safe. He warns them in the case of danger and sends messages from them over to their mates in Stonehold and back.

It was very fascinating for me to hear about these things, but unfortunately Mercury couldn't stay with me all night to tell me more. Therefore, he asked Ariel if she was so kind to take care of me while he was busy with his duties.

At first, Ariel seemed unsure about it but after a few nights, she became less reserved, finally realizing I was no harm to her son or anyone else and treated me like her own child. However, most of the Silverwings were still cautious around me while others either ignored or just changed a few words with me. It was sad, but I didn't feel lonely. Besides Mercury and Ariel, I also spend a lot of time with Ariel's son Shade, who I quickly made friends with.

During our time together I told him all I could about my life and humans in general, while he answered my questions about his and bats life and also showed his flight and hunting skills to me. I had to admit he was pretty good at it but his landings needed some practice.

Unfortunately, we couldn't talk long, because Ariel wanted Shade to use the night to find as much food as possible to build up fat reserves for the upcoming winter.

Ariel had to do the same which made me feel guilty since she had to find food not only for herself but for me as well. But according to her, this wasn't a problem. She was just happy to help.

* * *

One night, a few hours before dawn, I once again sat down on a ledge all by myself.

Letting out a soft yawn I stretched myself and thought about the upcoming migration. In three nights the colony would start its long journey to Hibernaculum and I was supposed to go with them. Just like Nils Holgerson from this Swedish children's book who traveled through the country together with a flock of wild geese.

I was kinda worried though. I knew Frieda did not just want me to come along to meet this friend of hers. She didn't want me to be left behind in the forest. And I was thankful for that. I probably would be dead already if Mercury hadn't brought me here. 

It had been cold on the night we both met but now it seemed to get even colder.

My leaf-dress barely kept me warm, but it was the only ''clothes'' I had.

While daydreaming, I leaned myself back to relax a bit more and suddenly felt two hands grabbing me by my side, causing me to jump up with a squeak like a frightened guinea pig.

I thought a spider run on my dress but as soon as I calmed down again I spotted Shade, rolling around on the floor, laughing like crazy. _''That little ...''_

Many times I had told him how much I disliked to get scared unexpectingly. Still, he had to do it again. 

''Mind telling me what that was for?'' I asked, getting miffed about his silly joke.

''S-sorry,'' he replied still laughing. ''B-but that ...wahahaha that was just too good. Hehehe. The sound you made. Hahahaha! I-I have never heard a bat making such noises.''

''Well, just to remind you Shade, I’m not a bat,'' I mentioned, crossing my arms while still frowning at him until he finally recovered from his laugh attack. I was glad he calmed down quickly because the number of eyes looking at us since my outcry was slowly starting to embarrass me a little.

Finally, Shade stopped and the other Silverwings turned their attention back to other things.

''Oh boy,'' Shade said, rubbing a tear out of his eye. ''I never thought I would get this kind of reaction from you.'' He started chuckling again but quickly stopped, noticing the look on my face.

''Alright. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I promise.''

I sighed. ''Good. But what are you even doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be outside and hunt for bugs or something?'' I asked, whereupon he uttered a moan, while rolling his eyes in annoyance.

''Great Nocturna, not you too. Why do you and mom always insist that I have to eat all the time? Do you want me to roll the long way to Hibernaculum?''

I chuckled, picturing this but shook my head. ''Your mother just wants you to build up enough fat reserves for the winter. Who knows how much food we will find on the migration?'' I said. 

''Oh, please, I'm sure there's something. Besides, I doubt the journey will be that long. At most, a few nights south.''

''Do you really think your colony would leave this place if Hibernaculum would be just around the corner?'' I asked, raising an eyebrow.

''Hmm no, presumably not,'' he admitted. ''But anyhow. I can eat as much as I want. My body won’t build up more fat pads than it has.''

''Well, maybe you don't catch enough fat bugs?'' I guessed with a shrug, ''Only small mosquitos and stuff.''

Shade looked at me frowning. ''That's not true. Yesterday I caught a huge bug as big as your head.''

''As if.''

''No, really!''

''Yesterday you said the biggest bug you caught was as big as my hand,'' I said unimpressed, ''Seriously Shade, don't start bragging like Chinook.''

He looked disgusted. ''Are you comparing me with him?''

''What? No,'' I sighed, ''He just gets on my nerves with his bragging all the time. I mean, who cares how much he eats or how great he can fly?''

''Well, some bats do. Todd and Breeze, for example.''

''Fine, but we aren't them.''

''True.''

''Whatever, you should get out now and catch more bugs before the sun gets up,'' I said looking towards the entrance. During my time here with the Silverwings I learned not only about their lives in general but also all the rules and laws they had to follow.

A few of them sounded reasonable to me. But then there were those whose meaning I did not quite understand. And the explanations for them much less. Like that law that forbid bats to see the sun. 

I had always wondered why these nocturnal creatures were never seen during the day. But that there was actually a law that forbids them to be outside on daytime. That was really strange. 

I had asked Mercury some questions about it. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell me more than I had already learned from Ariel and Shade. 

''It's too dangerous to be outside when the sun is up. It could kill you. And if she doesn't, then surely will the owls.''

What nonsense! The sun wasn't that dangerous. Further, I doubted that here in Canada the sun ever got so hot that it could burn you on the spot. Especially not in winter.

Shade swung himself back into the air but hesitated to fly out. ''Now what? How about I show you how I do it?'' he suggested.

I looked at him puzzled. ''What do you mean?''

''I will show you how I catch a real bug.''

''Oh. Sure why not? Just bring one here when you get back,'' I said but Shade shook his head.

''That's not what I mean. I want to show you how I hunt. Outside in the forest.''

I bit down on my underlip. ''Shade, you know I'm not supposed to go out until the migration. What if someone sees me?''

''Nah! No one will know. You are just coming with me for a few minutes, hiding behind some leaves. I'll show you how I hunt and then I'll bring you back. Plain and simple. Nobody will notice that you were gone.''

He seemed sure about it but I still wasn't completely convinced. ''I don't know, Shade ...''

''Come on, nothing bad is going to happen you will see.''

Thoughtfully I looked over to Shade and straight into his pleading face. ''Shade you know that doesn't work with ...'' Not listening he kept looking at me with big round eyes, ears flapped back to his head and a quivering underlip. ''Oh, please not the pouty bat face.''

I tried to ignore it but he didn't stop. ''Urgh. Alright. Fine. I'm coming with you but only for a few minutes!'' Shade nodded smiling with joy and flew straight over to me.

''Short question. How are you even going to get me outside? I don't think you can carry me on your back Shade.''

''Just hang on to my feet. That should do it.''

Still feeling unsure about this I let out a soft sigh and jumped up to grab Shades feet with my hands and let him carry me outside with no one else noticing.

* * *

As soon as we got outside, Shade sat me down on the branch of a chestnut tree not too far away from Tree-Heaven and flew off. Feeling uneasy of the height, I pressed my back against the trunk and watched Shade hunting for bugs.

I was careful to stay hidden behind the foliage but was still worried someone would see me. I was practically ready to ask Shade to bring me back, but the Silverwing focused more on a thick moth which was appeasing its thirst with the nectar of a purple-colored flower.

With a quick flap of the wings, Shade dived at the moth but it fluttered away just before he could catch it. He chased it around the forest and through a hollowed log on the ground. Nearly getting it when suddenly another Silverwing crossed his path and snatched the moth right before his eyes.

''Hey!'' Shade cried, ''That was mine!''

''Well, too bad,'' the bat returned, and I instantly recognized Chinook's supercilious voice.

Chinook was a dark blue bat with bright blue colored hair and mane and dark blue wings. In the nursery they considered him to be the largest and strongest among the young bats, born last spring. Unfortunately, he thought it gave him the right to rub it under everyone's nose. Especially to Shade who was the complete opposite.

Compared to Chinook and the other newborns, Shade was much smaller and weaker. Even I was half a head taller than him. All thanks to his birth.

One night Ariel explained to me that Shade was born as one of the oldest pups of this year but two weeks before his actual due date.

He had been so tiny no one was even sure if he'd survive at least one night. But thanks to his mother, Shade survived and surprised everyone with his first flying attempts. But his size didn't change much. Instead of being as big as an adolescent Silverwing should be, Shade still looked more like a child.

Nevertheless, this didn't mean Shade couldn't still grow a bit more. He may never reach the designated size of an adult Silverwing male but maybe the size of an adult female instead.

Grinning gloatingly Chinook flew back to the chestnut tree, I was still sitting on and roosted on a branch right below me. With him were two other newborns called Todd and Breeze.

Todd was a small chubby male with cyan colored fur, darker wings, and orange hair. Breeze a blonde female with violet-colored fur, pink mane and purple wings. Both congratulated their idol for his amazing catch while he swallowed the moth with unnecessary loud munching noises.

''Coole Technique,'' Breeze praised and swung her fist into the air to emphasize her words, ''That tiger moth never saw what hit it.''

''Ha! Neither did Shade,'' Chinook said smirking, and all three began to laugh.

I shook my head looking at them in disgust. Even in the animal kingdom existed individuals who just loved to mock others for fun.

Breathlessly Shade flew over, looking hurt and frustrated. ''I could have had it,'' he said, glaring at Chinook.

''Coulda-woulda-shoulda,'' Chinook taunted while poking Shade roughly on the chest, causing the smaller bat to lose his balance on the branch to fell down on the one below. Again they all chuckled, except for me and Shade.

''Don't sweat it, runt,'' said Chinook, ''Only the best hunters can see through the moth's echo protection.''

''Echo protection?'' Shade scoffed, ''The word is echo projection and don't call me runt!''

''Really?'' But Chinook didn't seem much interested in the right pronunciation of the word. Instead, he turned his back to Shade, ignoring him while giving his full attention to Todd and Breeze.

''Now, where was I before I was forced to eat yet another tiger moth?''

''If you are afraid to overgorge yourself, why don't you just leave them for others?'' I called down in annoyance, having enough of his arrogant behaviour. Too late I realized how I just betrayed myself in this way.

Immediately all four bats looked up at me on the branch.

''Well look at that,'' Chinook jeered, ''The furless actually came out of the tree.''

''Is she even allowed to do that? I thought she is supposed to stay inside until the migration?'' Todd asked, scratching his head in confusing.

''That's right. Hey! Why are you here?'' Breeze demanded to know.

''Well, I ...''

''I brought her with me,'' Shade said determined before I could even figure out of what to say. The others looked at him dumbfounded.

''What? Why?'' Todd asked.

''So she can hear about my father of course,'' Chinook said haughtily. ''That was what I wanted to tell you about. Wasn't it? She probably couldn't wait to learn about him like you guys.''

_''You got to be kidding me,'' _I thought. Oddly enough, it seemed to be the only logical explanation for his friends for why I was here.

I would have loved to tell him how wrong he was but kept my mouth shut. It was better I let him believe what he wanted and listen to his ostentation. Otherwise he might rat me and Shade out for breaking the rules. Therefore, I had no choice but to climb down to them all.

''My dad is so big, his wings reach from here to ... that tree over there and he can eat thousand bugs just in one night and he is much faster than anyone in the colony. And one night he fought against an owl and killed it.'' Todd and Breeze looked at him in awe, while me and Shade just rolled our eyes.

_''Seriously?''_

''No bat can kill an owl. They are too big,'' said Shade, earning a challenging glare from Chinook.

''You calling me a liar, runt?'' he snarled and roughly pushed him to his knees.

''Not ... technically.'' opined Shade, while getting back up on his feet. Luckily for him, Chinook took his answer as a sign of defeat and spread his wings wide open, pushing the smaller Silverwing back down on purpose. I shook my head watching this and went over to help Shade back up.

''My father is huge!'' boasted Chinook. ''You will see him once we get to Hibernaculum. That means, if your wings can make the migration. ''With a grin Chinook grabbed Shades forearm and forced his wing open as if to show how useless they were.

Shade pulled away from his grip and glared at him.

''But then again, why bother if you don't have a dad waiting for you there, anyway.''

My eyes widen, knowing that Chinook had just stroke a very sensible nerve.

''Don't talk about my dad like that!'' Shade growled but Chinook didn't even flinch. ''Your dad was bad news,'' he kept mocking him, ''He was a troublemaker and a coward!''

''My dad was not a coward!'' Shade retorted, ''You fruit bat!'' Chinook looked like he was ready to punch Shade for insulting him like that but the sudden sound of birds chirping around caused him to stop in his tracks.

''Sun's coming up,'' Breeze said, ''We got to go back to Tree-Heaven!''

''Come Chinook. Let's go!'' Todd urged him while I wondered why they were so nervous all of a sudden? Was it because of the law?

Chinook nodded at his friends and turned back to Shade with a warning glare. ''You better watch your mouth,'' he growled threateningly but Shade didn't even blink. Then he opened his wings wide enough to bump them deliberately against Shade almost knocking him off the tree before following the others.

''Come on you two,'' Breeze called over to us but Shade didn't move. Instead, he let out a yawn and made himself comfortable on the branch.

''You guys go,'' he said, ''Vanessa and I will stick around and look at the sun.''

This didn't sound so bad to me but the three Silverwings stopped straight in mid-flight, bumping into each other and immediately came back to us with a shocked expression on their faces.

''Look at the sun?'' Chinook asked. 

Shade nodded, looking at him unblinking. ''You heard me.''

''I heard you, but I don't believe you.''

Breeze was horrified. ''You can't be outside when the sun comes up. The owls will kill you.''

_''This again?'' _I thought. ''Why would the owls kill someone for seeing the sun?''

''Duh, because it's forbidden?!'' Todd said looking up at me like it was obvious.

''Sorry, I don't get it. What's so bad about seeing the sun?'' Chinook, Todd and Breeze looked at me dumbstruck.

''Did no one told you about the dangers of the sun, Furless?'' Chinook asked. ''It's a giant fireball that will blind you in a split second, melt your skin and burn you to crisps.''

I blinked. ''Ok, I know stuff like sunburns are bad but that's pushing it.''

''Oh, what makes you so sure about it?''

''Eh, because I used to walk around in the daylight?!'' I retorted. ''Humans aren’t night-active creatures.''

This made Chinook think for a minute. ''Hmpf,...but still...''

''Why don't you just join me to see the truth for yourself?'' Shade suggested. ''Aren't you ...curious?''

The bigger bat hesitated for a second. ''Maybe I am, ... runt.''

''Are you out of your mind? It's against the law,'' reminded us, Todd.

''A stupid law,'' I mumbled, wondering what idiot made it up. Shade nodded.

''Vanessa is right, isn't that so Chinook?'' he asked grinning at him while the birds began to sing louder around us.

''Guys it's morning and we should really be inside,'' Todd said nervously and made his way back to the nursery followed by Breeze.

Shade, Chinook and I stood behind and watch those two flying back to Tree-Heaven. Then Chinook cleared his throat and looked back down at Shade. ''So uh ... what are we gonna do? Hang ... out?''

''I thought maybe we could fly up top. Get a better view.''

''Really?''

Shade nodded and turned over to me. ''Want to come with us?''

''Sure, why not?'' I shrugged. ''Better than staying here and wait for you guys to return since I'm practically stuck here. Besides, I rarely got to see the sunrise myself.''

''What did you do all time?'' Shade asked.

''Sleeping. I'm not much of a morning person.''

''I see,'' Shade said smiling and grabbed my hands with his feet before soaring up to a very tall, leafless tree on the top of a hill. There he sat me down on the highest branch and hung himself upside down underneath together with Chinook. The bigger Silverwing stared anxiously at the distant glow in the east.

''Well, I guess that's the sun. Now, let's head back.'' Hopefully, he turned to Shade, but he just shook his head with a sigh.

''The just the pre-glow,'' he breathed, not leaving his eyes from the horizon.

''Oh, well eh...,'' Chinook chuckled nervously. ''Why don't we just not see the sun and ... eh ... say we saw it?''

''Why, are you scared?'' I asked.

''What me? Nah I'm just ... eh ...'' He gulped, getting more tense each second. Then he couldn't take it anymore and dashed back home as fast as he could.

As soon as he was out of sight, Shade flew up to me on the branch and we both looked at each other in triumph. 

''Suits him right,'' I said.

''Did you see his face?'' Shade chuckled. ''I thought he would wet his fur any minute.'' We both laughed thinking about this and glanced back at the horizon.

The distant glow was getting brighter and the dark sky turned to a light pink color. We had to shield our eyes not to get blended from the light.

''Say Shade. Do you honestly think this is a good idea?'' I asked, gradually getting nervous myself.

''Didn't you say the sun is harmless?'' Shade asked.

''Yeah. But I'm talking about the owls. Breeze said they will kill anyone who dares to stay out in the day.''

''Yeah, because they made up this nonsense of a law. It is said the first light belongs to the owls, and no bat may go out by day or they will get eaten by them,'' he explained.

''That's stupid.''

''Couldn't agree with you more.''

Together we looked back at the rising sun, when a sudden shriek got my attention._ ''What was that?'' _I looked over at Shade, wondering if he had noticed it too but the Silverwing looked too stunned from the light. 

''Eh Shade, do you see that?'' I asked, poking his arm to get his attention.

''See what?''

I pointed to the east. ''That thing over there that looks like its coming straight towards us.''

''Nah! You probably just imagining it Vanessa,'' Shade replied while looking ahead, ''There is nothing important just a big angry ... OWL!''

With a scream, Shade jumped from the tree, snatching me with his feet. Only seconds before the white feathered owl crashed into the branch, shattering the wood with its big talons.

''Hurry!'' I yelled, but it wasn't hard to see what problems it caused him to gain speed with me as additional weight. 

The owl, however, caught up with us with no effort, almost catching me with its beak. But Shade got away just in time, turning a hook around the owl.

Screeching furiously the bird resumed its pursuit and hurried after us.

Shade breathed heavily as he tried to get us both to safety while I looked back in fear, realizing how close the owl was. 

To make matters worse, Shade started to lose his hold on me. He still tried to tighten his grip, but it was no use. I was too heavy for him. 

''Shade!'' I cried out, but my hands slipped out of his claws. 

''No!'' he screamed in horror, ''Vanessa!'' 

Shade plunged after me to catch me in time but someone else caught me first. Mercury. 

''Back to Tree-Heaven now!'' he hissed urgently and without hesitation, both bats rushed through the woods with me dangling under Mercury's feet.

But the owl wasn't done. With another furious shriek, it took up the hunt and followed us all the way through the forest. 

''Faster!'' Mercury urged us, while flying ahead. ''And whatever you do, don't look back!’’

But we did.

Behind us, the owl was getting closer and closer, while a slight piece of the sun cleared the horizon, spilling dazzling light over the valley.

To escape Mercury guided us below the tree line. Other birds started to wake up and chirped in surprise when they saw us passing by their nests. I held on tight on his feet as we weaved crazily around the foliage. Desperately trying to escape. 

At last, we burst out into the clearing and towards the lake. Tree-Heaven right ahead of us. 

_''Almost there,’’_ I thought with relief but the owl was still close behind us.

But before it could snatch any of us with its sharp beak or talons, Mercury rushed through the knothole and dropped me to the ground, instantly followed by Shade.

Breathing heavily, we pushed ourselves further inside and pressed our backs against the wooden wall. The owl tried to get us out by reaching into the hole with its claws, but it was way too big to fit through. Eventually, it gave up and flew off after circling around the tree with yet another furious shriek. Only then did we allow ourselves to breathe again, and I noticed myself trembling from the shock.

''You both ok?'' Mercury asked. Shade and I nodded, feeling too shocked to say anything. Mercury nodded and told us to wait before flying off. Seconds later we flinched, hearing a pissed off female voice.

''Shade, Cassiel Silverwing!''

We turned around and watched Ariel flying down to us. Her expression a mixture of worry and anger. Without hesitation, she embraced us with her wings. ''Thanks, Nocturna you are both safe,'' she whispered in relief before backing away again. ''What were you two doing out there?'' she asked glaring at us sternly. I looked over to Shade as in seeking support.

''Eh, ... nothing?'' he said, causing his mother to get even angrier.

''Nothing? That owl nearly killed you.'' Ariel cried, getting the attention of nearly everyone in the colony.

''W-we got away,'' I mumbled, not liking to be screamed at and backed a little away from her.

''Yeah, thanks to Mercury,'' Ariel retorted. ''If it weren't for him you ...'' She shook her head not wanting to think about it and took a deep breath to calm herself down. ''Do you have any idea what you have done?'' she asked, shaking her head in frustration before looking back at her son. ''Oh, Shade. You broke the law!''


	5. Echoes of the Past

A restless murmur ran through the crowd roosting above us. They all looked at us with a mixture of anger and fear. I gulped but felt relieved to see Todd and Breeze flying over to a ledge right above us.  
  
''You two are in so much guano. Chinook is gonna be grounded for a week,'' said Todd not without amusement written on his face.  
  
''Why? He didn't do anything that big mouse,'' said Shade, mumbling the last word. I promptly threw an unmistakable glare at him and nodded warningly towards his mother. Luckily, she seemed to ignore his insult about Chinook.  
  
''So, did you see it?'' Breeze asked, sounding excited, ''You know...''  
  
''Todd!'' A sharp call prevented us from telling them about our adventure and three adult Silverwing females, the mothers of Breeze, Chinook and Todd landed behind the two young bats on the ledge ''Roost!'' the chubby one, called Bala strictly commanded and Todd instantly obeyed his mother's orders and left the spot, followed by Breeze.

''Ariel, this has gone too far!'' Bala criticized. Like the other two, she looked like a spitting image of her child. But with pink instead of orange hair and purple-colored fur and wings.

''Far too far,'' added Breeze's mother Jaya whose fur color was violet like her daughter's. But her hair was much brighter. More white.

Isis, Chinooks mom, who looked just like him with her hairstyle but had purple fur, white hair and a pink and white mane, flew over to the edge and hung down to our level with a claw pointed directly at Ariel. ''Keep those lawbreakers away from my baby!'' she demanded glaring at her coldly.  
  
Shade rolled his eyes. ''It's a laugh,'' he muttered with a smirk.  
  
''Shade!'' Ariel hushed him, ''Roost! Now!'' The young Silverwing lowered his head and did like his mother said. Then she looked back over to me and crossed her wings before her chest. ''You too!''  
  
I blinked at her in surprise. ''But Mercury said ...'' Seeing the strict expression in her face, I knew it was useless trying to say anything. Instead, I just nodded and walked over to my sleeping place.

Arriving there, I was about to curl up under the leaves in order to sleep as I heard wings flapping behind me. 

I turned around and saw Mercury standing in front of the entrance to the crevice. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and stared down at me with a stern expression.

''Eh, Ariel said that I should come here. Sorry I didn't...''

''I know. She told me,'' he interrupted me without changing his facial expressions or gestures. 

''Actually, I am more interested to know why you broke your word and went outside? ''

I swallowed, not knowing what to say.

''Or why you and Shade broke the most important law?'' He shook his head. ''I thought I told you about it Vanessa.''

''You did,'' I admitted.

''I know you humans are used to walk around in the daylight,'' he continued, ''But here you are not among your kind Vanessa. You are here with us and therefore you have to follow our rules.''

I looked away, knowing he was right, and felt ashamed to have broken my word. I should have talked Shade out of seeing the sun and not be persuaded by him to go outside. After all, I was older than him, probably even in bat years and therefore should have acted more responsibly. But now it was too late.

''I'm sorry,'' I said and looked at him. ''I should have stayed here and not gone outside with Shade and see the sun. That was quite stupid of us.''

Mercury snorted, ''Indeed. Although ''quite stupid'' is still an understatement.'' He sighed and his expression changed into worry. ''We can only pray that your _stupidity_ won't bring any misfortune.''

_''What misfortune?''_ I asked myself and had the feeling he meant alone the thing with the sun. 

But what could that be? Didn't we escape the owl?

''Best you go to sleep now. We talk further about it tomorrow.''

I nodded and put myself back under the leaves while Mercury flew over to his own roost and closed my eyes.

* * *

  
''Hey, Psst! Vanessa!''  
  
''Hmmr ..what's wrong?'' I asked grumpily, not liking to be woken up so early.  
  
''The elders have met, and they want to see both of us...now!'' Shade replied, looking down at me with worry. Immediately I got up.  
  
''But I thought only adult bats were allowed to meet the elders?'' I asked confused.  
  


''Yes, and anyone who looks at the sun or goes out even though she was told not to do so!''  
  
I flinched briefly noticing Mercury standing right there, beside Shade, looking at me reproachfully. 

''Now come on!''

Not wanting to disgruntle him even more than he already was, I hastily rubbed the sleep out of my face and combed my hair with my fingers before walking out of the crevice to climb onto Mercury's back.

Then he lifted off and flew with me to the very top of Tree-Heaven, like the very first time after he brought me to the colony.

Shade and his mother Ariel followed us close behind.  
  
Soon after did we land on the same mushroom-like platform and I looked up to the four elders standing on a sill right above us.  
With my heart throbbing in my chest, I waited anxiously for what would happen next.  
Then finally, after what felt to me like an eternity, Frieda began to speak.  
  
''Shade Silverwing and Vanessa, step forward.'' Still, nervous we both did as we were told.  
''You two have broken the most ancient law of our colony. Do you have an explanation for this?''  
The moonlight dropped on a silver piece of metal on Frieda's left wrist and I blinked, wondering why I haven't noticed it before. Next to me, Shade looked also in awe at the sparkling band.  
Frieda noticed our expressions and looked at her band for a second before turning back to us. Ignoring it. ''Now?''

''Just youthful exuberance and curiosity.'' Ariel blurted, trying to defend us.''They only...''  
  
''Curiosity that will be the ruin of this colony,'' Bathsheba interrupted her harshly. ''The owls will want retribution and quite frankly, who can blame them?''

I gulped.  
  
''Silence!'' Frieda hushed her with a glare before turning back to me and Shade. ''Do you have anything to say for yourself?''she asked. 

Ariel frantically shook her head. ''No, no, they don't. They're just children.''  
For a split-second, I felt the urge to object. After all, I just went past my teen years and was definitely not a child anymore. Then again this wasn't quite the right moment for such kind of discussion. So instead, I kept my mouth shut.

Shade however, thought differently: ''Yes, I do,'' he said, looking up at the four elders with resolution. ''The law is ... wrong!'' An agitated murmur went through the crowd of Silverwings nearby watching us. Even the elders looked shocked by his words. Especially Bathsheba.  
  
''What?'' she snarled.  
  
''Shade!'' Ariel breathed.  
  
''Let the boy speak,'' Frieda demanded but Bathsheba didn't listen. She hopped forward, ignoring her leader and glared angrily down at my friend.

''Listen you insolent upstart! That law guarantees our very existence.''

''Bathsheba!'' Frieda threw a warning glare at her colleague before asking Shade to continue with his explanation. Unfortunately, Shade didn't seem to know how to explain himself, so I took the floor instead.  
  
''What's so wrong with bats seeing the sun?'' I asked before I could even stop myself. The words just tumbled out of my mouth. Asking the question, I had in my mind since the first time I heard about this law. ''I mean, I've heard stories, about bats getting turned into dust or stone and such things. But that's ... I'm sorry ... ridiculous. The sun might have its dangers but it won't burst anyone into flames just like that.''

Shade nodded eagerly, agreeing with me. ''That's right, the only reason we can't be out in the daylight is because of the owls. It's unfair!''

Frieda raised her wing. ''I've heard enough.''  
  
''Indeed,'' Bathsheba said, ''We have no choice but to hand these lawbreakers over to the owls.''  
  
''What?'' cried Ariel and immediately wrapped her wings protectively around her son. ''No, Frieda, please!'' pleadingly she stared up to the supreme elder.  
  
''And we should do it now before the owls come for him and the girl. Someone probably told the owls about her anyway after seeing her outside, when she was actually supposed to stay inside.'' She glared at me. ''I knew you would just cause trouble to our colony human.''  
  
Anger flared up inside me but I forced myself to stay calm, knowing it won't be worth it to start to argue with her. The other two elders, however, seemed to be unsure about what should happen to us.  
  
''I don't like this idea. But for the good for all of us it might be the best if we let the owls handle the situation since they will come to us anyway.'' said Aurora.  
  
Lucretia nodded. ''Yes, they will want to know the truth about a human being in our home.''

Bathsheba grinned triumphantly, thinking she had won this round.  
''Good. Now let us send a message to the owls to tell them that we hand these two over to them.''  
  
''No!''  
  
Annoyed Bathsheba glared down at the bat who dared to object her decision. To my surprise, it wasn't Ariel again but Mercury instead who had walked up and protectively shielded me with his wings from the glaring eyes of the elder. ''We can't just hand them over just like that. There has to be another way.''  
  


I blinked in confusion wondering why he was defending me like that? Well, he was defending Shade as well with his words but his wings were only blocking me from the bats above us.  
  
Bathsheba looked like she was about to nag again but Frieda stopped her before she could even make a sound.  
  
''I'll take appropriate actions at the appropriate time,'' she said and flew down to us on the ledge.

''Come with me,'' she said and Shade and I both exchanged a worried glance with each other before looking at Ariel and Mercury for help.  
Ariel kept her wings around her son, not wanting to let him go and Mercury too refused to lower his wings.  
  
''Ariel, Mercury. It's for the good of the colony'' said Frieda calmly.

The Silverwing scout wanted to disagree with her at first, but Ariel held him back by putting a hand on his shoulder. With a deep sigh, Mercury moved his wings away from me and stepped aside. Scared and confused I watched what he was doing and how Ariel let go of her son. Both with a sad expression in their eyes.

''Shade. Vanessa. Go with Frieda!'' Ariel said.  
  
We were shocked but knew we had no choice but to do as we were told.  
Therefore, Shade lifted himself up from the ground and flew over to me to grab my hands with his feet before following Frieda into the depths of Tree-Heaven.

* * *

Frieda continued leading us down until we arrived at the mossy bottom of the tree.  
One couldn't imagine how relieved I was to feel solid ground back under my feet.  
Down here, the surrounding air was much cooler here than in the upper regions, so I rubbed my arms to warm up a bit. The smell of soil and wood was so intensive, even I could smell it without problems.  
  
Curiously Shade and I kept following the supreme elder through a narrow passage behind some kind of wooden door which let us even deeper into the tree until we reached a curtain of dry leaves. Right behind it was a massive cave with walls so smooth like ice and roots hanging down from the ceiling above and along the walls.

It seemed we were below the ground and under Three-Heaven itself.  
  
''Sit down over there!'' Frieda nodded towards a spiral-shaped root hanging down in the middle of the room and Shade flew over to set me on top of it before roosting underneath with the elder beside him.

Both of us looked around in awe and astonishment.

''I don't understand,'' Shade finally said, ''Where are we?''  
  
''This room is called the Echo-Chamber,'' Frieda explained,'' It holds all of our colonies history, sung by Silverwings long dead. The walls of the chamber are polished so smoothly they will echo here forever.  
  
Wow, I thought and kept looking around. The chamber was pretty much dark but from the bottom which looked strangely like some kind of round lake, swirled a mysterious fog upwards and gave the room a ghostly white glow.  
  
''What's that sound?'' Shade suddenly asked, pulling me out of my trance. 

_''Sound?'' _I wondered what he was talking about and listened more carefully but besides the rustling of wings and my own thoughts in my head I couldn’t hear a thing.  
Feeling confusion, I looked down to the two bats roosting beneath me.  
  
''You can hear it?'' I heard Frieda asking Shade who kept looking around as if he wasn't so sure of it himself.  
  
''Well, kind of,'' he replies, ''It's like ... someones whispering.''  
  
I tried to listen again, but all I could hear was the wind, howling faintly through the chamber. Could there even be wind so deep down under the ground?  
  
''Someone from hundreds, even thousands of migrations ago.''  
  
''What are they saying?''  
  
Frieda smiled. ''You tell me. Simply concentrate and listen. Not everyone has the gift.''  
Shade did as he was told and closed his eyes shut. His eyebrows wrinkled slightly in frustration as he tried to concentrate. ''I hear so many voices,'' he said.  
  
''Pick one.''  
  
I watched Shade concentrating hard on finding those voices and huffed softly.  
''No idea what you two are talking about but I can only hear the wind,'' I said, leaning back with my arms crossed before my chest.  
To my surprise, Frieda looked up at me with a soft smile and shook her head.  
  
''There is no wind down here, my dear,'' she said, ''It would just confuse the echoes. No. What you hear are the reverberations of echoes sung by bats long ago. Humans like you normally cannot hear the high-pitched sounds we bats make, but I am sure that you will be able to hear them too one day. All you need is a bit of practice.'' I looked at her skeptically.  
''Just close your eyes and listen carefully. Do not let your thought interfere, just concentrate.''

  
I did as she said and closed my eyes, concentrating on the surrounding sounds, while trying my best not to think of something that could disturb me.  
But for the next few minutes, I kept hearing only the soft breathing sounds of me, Frieda and Shade and the strange whispering in the wind. ... wait a moment? Whispering? At first, I thought I had just imagined it but when I listened more carefully, I could hear faint voices talking to me.  
I was surprised and wanted to know who the voices belong to but I also feared I would lose them again if I stopped the connection. After a moment, the voices became louder, and I was able to understand them better.   
  
_''...this winter...''  
  
''...the owls took revenge...''  
  
''... fifteen newborns died in the nursery...''  
  
''...rebellion crushed after the battle...''_  
  
I had no idea what the voices were talking about but it didn't sound well.  
Then I frowned and tried my best to keep a hold on to a different voice, thinking it must behold the story Frieda wanted me and Shade to hear.  
  
_''Many seasons past, at the dawning of the ages, the world we know was nothing but an empty place.''_

It sounded like a young female, but her voice soon switched to a more masculine one and vice verse. As if a small group of bats was telling this one story together.

''There was only Nocturna, the winged spirit, whose wings spanned the entire night sky and were the night sky and contained the stars and the moon and the wind. One by one Nocturna fashioned creatures...''  
  
Pictures started to fill my mind, giving me the impression of how the world must have looked like in prehistorical time. Everything was so strange and wild and it felt like I was really there.

_''All creatures existed without order.''_  
  
''No one knew, the hunter from the hunted.''  
  
''All creatures struggled for their place in a world with no boundaries or laws.''  
  
The previously peaceful looking images in my head turned into more disturbing ones by showing me scenes of fighting animals all over the grounds. And I began to wonder what were the causes of these fights?   
  
''Alliances were formed,'' the voices continued, ''and war was weighed between the two great kingdoms. The birds and the beasts.''  
  
Again a battle took place before my eyes. More intense and brutal than the ones before. The only difference: Instead of everyone going against everyone else. The birds were now fighting together against the creatures of the land. 

It was a pure horrific scenario but with one thing missing. Where were the bats?

In my mind, I looked around until I eventually spotted a few of them hiding in a cave, safely away from the battle.

__  
''But we bats, being both but neither, refused to join the battle.''  
  
''When the war finally ended, the great treaty was forged.''

So suddenly the fights had started so quickly they ended again and I saw myself in the middle with birds on the one side and beasts on the other side. Close by on the trees hung the bats and the other animals growled and gared at them with hate in their eyes.   
  
_''Because we refused to take sides. The birds and the beasts banished us. For all eternity to the darkness of the night.''_

The world started to spin around me and engulfed me with pitch blackness. Then I opened my eyes and found myself back in the Echo-Chamber.  
  
''We were forbidden from ever glimpsing the sun again,'' Frieda explained and I knew she must have listened to the story as well.  
Shade was outraged.  
  
''Is that how we got stuck with the law? Urgh, that's so unfair.'' He frowned. ''I hate the owls!''  
  
Frieda shook her head. ''You must learn to rule your anger and not let your anger rule you. Only foolish deeds will come of that.''  
  
''But he's right,'' I said, feeling as angry as Shade. I didn't know what I had expected to see why the bats weren't allowed to see the sun. But this? ''You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you guys even did the right thing in staying out of those battles.''  
  
Frieda sighted. ''You may be right with that my child,'' she said, ''but for the birds and the beasts, we were traitors and cowards. However, it is said that hundreds of years after the great treaty Nocturna herself spoke to us bats and gave us the greatest gift of all. The great promise.''  
  
I was confused. ''What is the great promise?''  
  
''It is one of the oldest legends here in the Echo-Chamber. It is even unclear if it really happened. But according to it, the goddess Nocturna herself personally gave us the promise to return into the light of the day.''  
  
''And how? Will there be another war?'' Shade asked.  
  
''Maybe. I'm not sure.''  
  
''When? When will that happen?''  
  
Frieda sighed and shook her head. ''Perhaps no more in my lifetime, nor in yours, but that could be different for Vanessa.''  
  
''Huh? Why is that?'' Shade asked blinking and turned over to me.  
  
''Human lifespan a longer than bats,'' Frieda explained to him before I could even think about what to say. ''However, what ever may happens. I believe it will happen much sooner.''  
  
''Why?''  
  
''That's why!'' Frieda moved her wing and showed us the silver band on her left forearm.  
  
Shade breathed in awe. ''How did you get it?'' He asked carefully, not leaving his eyes from the silver metal.  
  
''It was given to me by humans when I was still young. Barely older than you Shade,'' Frieda explained, ''Some of us were out in the woods one night. The humans came, caught us, attached the bands on our wrist and released us again. I believe it is a sign. A sign that the great promise is about to come soon. I don't know what role the humans will play in it but I think they've come to help us somehow.''  
Finishing her sentence she looked back up and stared me directly into the eyes with her bright yellows ones as if she was expecting something great from me.  
Slightly embarrassed I looked away, not knowing what to say to her. Luckily Shade interfered again before the silence in the room could get anymore awkward.  
  
''Have the humans ever tried to band anyone else?'' he asked curiously.  
  
''Not for a long time,'' Frieda said, turning back to the young Silverwing, ''But two winters ago they came back and banded a few males.  
  
''My dad,'' Shade immediately busted out.

Frieda nodded. ''Ariel told you about it, right?'' Shade shook his head.

''No,'' he mumbled sadly, ''She doesn't talk much about him.''

Frieda sighed. ''We used to tell our young often about these stories. But over time, most elders decided we should stop. There would be no point in thinking about a promise that might never happen. Bathsheba thinks so as well. She and many others don't wish to shed any more blood than it has already been spilled.''  
  
I gulped, thinking about something. ''Does...ehm...does it have anything to do with a rebellion? I heard a few voices whispering about it a bit earlier.''  
  
''Yes,'' Frieda replied, nodding. ''About fifteen years ago several colonies united to form a rebellion against the owls with dramatical consequences. But even though the bats had no chance against the owls they kept fighting. We kept fighting, I should say.''  
  
''You fought?'' Shade asked with awe, and he and I exchanged a short surprised look.  
  
''I was lucky to get away with my life,'' said Frieda, ''But after that, the elders decide it would be for the best of all of us to stay in the night and forget about the time where we had the freedom to fly even during the day. Basically, that sounds reasonable, but there are still some bats who can't get off the idea of the sun and freedom.''  
  
''Why did you show us all this,'' I asked, feeling confused, knowing Shade was probably wondering the same.

Frieda smiled at us. ''You both are different from other bats or humans I've met. You carry some kind of glow inside you that shouldn't be darkened. I can feel it.''  
  
I didn't understand what she was talking about, but before I could ask her any more questions I heard wing beats and looked up to see Mercury fluttering down to us with a serious expression on his face.  
  
''Pardon me, Frieda,'' he said firmly, ''Brutus, supreme commander of the owls, has arrived.''


	6. Burning Revenge

Frieda quickly ordered Mercury to lead everyone outside and tell the ones on the hunt to stay close by the tree but in a safe distance.  
I did not understand why she acted that way, but the rock up of this owl leader didn't feel like a good sign.

Soon after, all Silverwings were outside Tree-Heaven and spread out on the surrounding branches and trees in the forest, including Mercury, Shade and I.

Frieda however, landed beside the other elders on a gnarled branch of the nursery. In front of them stood a menacing-looking great horned owl. A male. Big and muscular with yellowish white and brown feathers and a thick white beard. On each of his wings were patterns of three orange stripes that gave his appearance a military look.

''General Brutus, please accept my deepest apologies for keeping you waiting,'' Frieda greeted him formally with a slight bow.

''Where are the boy and that human?'' the general asked, his yellow-brown eyes staring sternly down at the Silverwing elder.

''They are over there,'' she said, pointing over to us on the tree.  
Chinook, Breeze and Todd, who stood with us, quickly moved away and flew over to another branch. Giving the owl general a good view on us.Brutus kept a straight face, but I could see in his eyes that it surprised him to see a tiny human like me.

''So it really is true,'' I heard him saying thoughtfully to himself before turning his attention back to the Silverwing leader. ''Bring them both to me, so we can settle this.''

I gulped hearing him say this and pressed my body closer to the bark while Ariel came over to wrap her wings protectively over her son. He and I exchanged a short worried look then glanced back ahead.

''No!'' Frieda declared, causing Brutus to frown at her.''

''Do as I say!'' he ordered.

''I will not.''

''Frieda,'' the owl general unfurled his large wings to make himself look more menacing while trying to reason with her. ''Such a decision jeopardizes the balance of nature,'' he said firmly and I felt like I've just misheard something. Was this guy for real?

''Brutus,'' Frieda spoke up, ''You and I have flown in this forest for far too long. You don't really believe that one young bat and his friend glimpsing the sun will upset the balance of nature, do you? Look into your heart. Please, for old times' sake.''

''I will not be manipulated,'' growled the General, ''The past is in the past. Emotions have no place in the law's execution.''

I raised my eyebrow in confusion, wondering what they were talking about, but before I could ask Shade about it Bathsheba interfered, agreeing with the owl.

''My point exactly. The owls were well within their...''

''General Brutus,'' Frieda quickly interrupted the shorter bat, ignoring the angry look on her face. ''With all your respect as head of this colony, I stand firm on this. I will sacrifice no Silverwings or other creature for the sake of your unjust law.''

''UNJUST LAW?'' Brutus was outraged, his neck feathers bristled in anger. With one strong flap of his large wings, he flew down to the branch where the elders stood and stared directly down into Frieda's eyes. ''Give us the boy and the human!''  
  
''No,'' Frieda replied without batting an eye while the other elders quickly fled in fear. ''I have spoken,'' she said with her hand clenched into a fist.

Brutus smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile, more of a vicious one. ''Very well,'' he said and soared back into the sky. ''Prepare to suffer the consequences!''  
  
With a very disquieting feeling in my guts, I watched the owl general fly back to the treetops while the Silverwings began chattering nervously, wondering what Brutus had meant.  
Suddenly I heard Bathsheba gasping in fright and looked up to see at least forty owls flying in arrow formation and with burning sticks and branches in their claws.

To my horror, the owls dropped their cargo straight down on Tree-Heaven like aircraft bombs, causing the old tree to be caught up in flames immediately.  
The surrounding bats immediately took off in panic and fled deeper into the forest. Only a handful of them was brave enough to dash towards the fire in hope to save their summer home.  
  
With leaves and their own wings, they tried their best to extinguish the flames, but it was too much.  
To make matters worse, the owls were still there. With no effort, they pushed away each bat who dared to go near the burning tree. And one of them even digged a hole into the bark to push his stick inside to cause the tree to burn from the inside as well.  
  
The sight was horrible. The flames were so bright and the heat burned my skin. Frantically I looked around trying to find Shade, Ariel or Mercury. But all I could see and hear was the fire and the dreadful screams of the bats and the guttural laugh of the owls.

I frowned, feeling furious of what they had done and I climbed down the branch as fast as I could before anyone could stop me and hurried over to the burning tree. I was not even close when I got engulfed by the smoke that caused me to cough and filled my eyes with tears, making it even harder for me to see.

Still, I kept walking. Knowing that I had to do something. There was no way I would just sit back and watch Tree-Heaven burn down. It was their home. The Silverwings invited me here and took me in as one of their own. It was practically my duty to at least try to help them.

Only question was how? The smoke was too heavy and the heat too intense to get any further. Nevertheless, I kept going until I spotted a flickering light right in front of me.  
  
Without thinking, I dashed over, wanting to put it out and immediately yanked back with a gasp, feeling something pulling me back. I quickly turned around, thinking it was one of those blasted owls but to my surprise, I saw Mercury grabbing my arm with a sorrowful expression on his face.  
  
''Stop it Vanessa it's no use,'' he said calmly, ''The fire is too big.''  
  
''Just watch me!'' I ripped my arm free and grasped a stick with leaves on it to suffocate the flames but like he had said. It was too strong. The leaves and the stick burned away before I could even put the flames halfway out. Though that didn't matter to me. I would just use something else even if that meant using my own dress.

But then I felt Mercury's hand grabbing my arm again and felt him pulling me away with soft force.  
I struggled heavily, but he simply ignored my protests and continued to drag me away as far as possible. Then he took flight into the safety of the forest with me dangling under his feet.  
The rest of the Silverwings did the same. Encouraged by the loud voice of Frieda.  
  
''Silverwings retread! We must all retread now!''  
  
I couldn't see where she was and just assumed she was safely away from the fire as well and grabbed on tightly on Mercury's feet until we reached another tree, far enough from the fire and landed down on a branch. After this, he quickly examined me to see if I was ok and not hurt, then told me to wait there and flew off to check on the others.  
I only listened to him half-heartedly and watched with horror the inferno before my eyes, not noticing how Shade and his mother landed next to me on the branch.  
  
''Vanessa! Thank's Nocturna, you are alright.'' Ariel quickly wrapped her wings around me, hugging me tightly. ''Is everything ok? Are you hurt?'' she asked worriedly, but I shook my head.  
Sighting in relief Ariel let go of me and turned back to the conflagration.  
Together with Shade, we watch the unstoppable destruction of Tree-Heaven. The fire was so intense not even rain could save it now. With a loud crack, one of the burning branches broke off and fell into the lake.  
  
A few branches above us Brutus chuckled with glee for what he and his owls had done and triumphantly raised his wings up high. ''Justice has been served,'' he called out with rejoice and then withdrew with his people.  
  
_''What a bastard'',_ I thought, glaring at him and wished I could do something to make him pay.

Moments later, the three had burned down to its roots and a strangely looking column of smoke rose out from the flame together with a wave of ghostly voices whispering through the air.  
  
''W-what's that strange smoke coming out of the fire?'' I heard Breeze asking with fear.  
  
''The echoes of our history have been lost,'' Frieda explained, ''but history is kept in memory as well. As long as Silverwings fly our heritage will never be lost.''  
  
Next to me, Shade let out a deep sigh. ''What now?'' he asked his mother, but Ariel just shook her head ''I'm not sure,'' she admitted.  
  
''We would still have a home if we handed those troublemakers over to the owls,'' Bathsheba complained while looking at Frieda with her wings crossed.  
  
''Finding a new home is easier than replacing a child and Vanessa did nothing wrong,'' Frieda replied and flew over to a higher branch to get the attention of the whole colony.  
''Since our home has been destroyed, we must begin our migration to Hibernaculum early,'' she said causing the Silverwings to chatter worriedly.  
  
''Unbelievable,'' Bathsheba called out with disgust and fluttered over to another branch, even higher than Frieda. ''Sacrificing our summer roost for a human and a scrawny bat too small to make the migration anyway,'' she said and glared excoriated down on Shade and me.  
  
''Too small?'' Shade growled glaring back then looked around, hearing the other Silverwings whispering. Looking around as well I noticed how many of them backed away while starring at us and how the mothers wrapped their wings protectively around their children as if we could hurt them just by looking.  
Even Chinook threw a cold glance at us before turning away.

I couldn't help but glared back knowing everything was his fault too  
  
Then I looked back up again and saw Mercury landing beside Frieda on the branch.  
''Dawn is coming soon. We have to start moving,'' he said insistently.  
  
''Silverwings,'' Frieda cried out to the colony, ''We must ready our children for the long journey ahead.''

Shade took a deep breath then looked at his mother resolutely. ''I can make it,'' he said.  
  
''Of course you can. Shade, I have to sing our migration sound map to you now. You need to know the way to our winter roost,'' she said.  
  
His eyes widen. ''The whole thing?''  
  
''There is no time to sing it to you in stages like we usually do.''

He sighted, ''Ok.''

''Close your eyes and listen well.''  
I watched Ariel singing the sound map to her son just like the other mothers did and began to ask myself what would happen now. The wind increased, and I started to shiver a bit, but I tried to ignore it. Looking back at Shade it seemed for a moment he had lost his balance on the branch, but then he luckily caught himself and flew back on top of it, shaking his head.  
  
''Did you get all of it Shade?'' Ariel asked worriedly. Shade looked somewhat uncertain at first but then nodded. ''I... uh... I think so.''  
  
Soon all pups were ready for the flight and the autumn wind increased even more, causing my hair and various leaves to dance through the air.  
At the top of her branch, Frieda spread out her wings and flew off to start the journey and one by one each of the Silverwings began to follow her.  
I kinda felt a bit nervous knowing we were now starting this long flight and I could see it in Shade's eyes that he was probably thinking about the same.  
  
As almost everyone else was up in the air Mercury flew over to us and called out to Ariel and Shade to hurry up. Then he wanted me to climb on his back but Ariel told him I should better fly with her in case Frieda needed him.

Mercury nodded and flew back ahead while I climbed onto Ariel's back.   
  
''Ready?'' I asked Shade and smiles a bit, trying to feel optimistic.  
  
''Ready,'' he replied and took flight together with his mom and the rest of the Silverwings.


	7. Bad Dream

Right before sunrise the Silverwings and I sought shelter in the attic of an old barn.  
Feeling exhausted from the long flight, the bats quickly fell asleep, hanging upside down from the ceiling joists with their wings wrapped around their bodies like cozy blankets.  
  
I also laid down and made myself as comfortable as possible on the straw which wasn't so easy.  
The stems were just too prickly and not as soft as the leaves I used to sleep on before in Tree-Heaven but it was better than nothing. Digging myself in with a yawn I watched some mothers snuggling their pups into their wings. Then I fell asleep but the events of what happened still hunted me in my dreams.  
  


* * *

_With a soft yawn, I wake up and wonder why it is so quiet around me. _

_According to the lack of light, I assume it must be nighttime already so why can't I hear bats chattering like usual? Are they all out hunting together?_  
  
_I climb out of the crevice just to find myself all alone in Tree-Heaven._  
_''They didn't go on their migration without me or did they?'' A slight panic overcomes me but I take a few breaths to calm myself down. No, they wouldn't do that to me. Frieda said we would meet someone on the journey who might be able to help me get back to my bigger self. I doubt she was lying about that._  
  
_Still confused about the missing Silverwings I walk around trying to find someone but the whole oak seems to be completely abandoned._  
  
_''Hello! Anybody here?'' I call out. No answer. ''Hm, maybe I should check if I can find someone outside.'' I look at the entrance but hesitate for a moment, knowing I'm not allowed to go out so other animals won't see me. On the other hand, I need to know what is going on. Therefore, I pull myself together and walk towards the hole the Silvewings use as their front door._  
  
_''Just a little peak. That should be ok.'' I crawl outside and look around. Besides the surrounding forest, there is not much to see in the dark. Also, it is still pretty quiet._  
_Too quiet for my taste. There are no insects whizzing around and no wind that rustles through the leaves. Everything is just dead silent._  
  
_Again I feel a shiver going through my spine. This is just too creepy. What is going on?_  
_I walk a bit farther away from the nursery and through the high grass._  
_Suddenly I freeze hearing wings flapping out of nowhere. Looking up, I see Shade floating above me and I sigh with relief._  
  
_''Geez, Shade don't do that. You nearly gave me a heart attack here. Can you please tell me what's going on and ...?'' I brake off noticing the appalled look on his face. ''Uh, Shade? What is...?''_  
  
_''Vanessa what-what have we done?'' he breathes starring with fear at something right behind me._  
  
_''What are you talking about Shade? What did we do?'' Instead of answering Shade just shakes his head, still staring past me with tears shining in his eyes. Slowly I begin to worry about what is going on but before I can ask more I start to smell something burning and hear some cracking behind me. Confused about it I turn around and gasp seeing Tree-Heaven blazing in flames._

_''What in the world?!'' Only now I feel the heat. An unbearable warmth engulfing me along with thick smoke that burns into my lungs and brings tears into my eyes._  
  
_''Why? ... How? ''I ask and cough violently because of the smoke while watching the ancient oak getting devoured by fire. ''We ... we have to do something!'' I turn around seeking for help._  
_''Quick! We need to fetch water! We have to extinguish the flames!''_  
  
_''We can't extinguish it. The fire is already too big.''_  
  
_Stunned, I look up and see Mercury hovering above me with a _surprisingly _calm expression on his face._  
  
_''He's right. There is nothing we can do,'' says Ariel who appears beside him._  
  
_''But.._._we can't let Tree-Heaven burn down!''_  
  
_''Are you deaf human?'' comes Bathsheba's harsh voice right next to me. ''_The tree is lost_. Thanks to you and that troublemaker Shade!''_  
  
_''What? No, that's not true!'' I protest but the elder just keeps glaring at me hatefully._  
  
_''Frieda should have never allowed you to stay with us. Now, look what you have done!''_  
  
_Again I try reasoning with her. ''That isn't our fault. It's the owls. They burned the tree.''_  
  
_''Just because you two saw the sun.''_  
  
_''Why did you do that? You knew _it was forbidden_,'' Ariel asks me with disappointment while Mercury just shakes his head, looking at me. ''I should have never brought you to our colony,'' he says._  
  
_''But ...'' Desperately I look around searching for support but all I see are bats whose faces appear as images in the blazing flames all around me._  
  
_'''You shouldn't be here!'' they say._  
  
_''Why did you come here?''_  
  
_''You humans are all the same. No one can trust you!''_  
  
_''Thanks to you, we have no home anymore!''_  
  
_''No, please, listen! That's not true. It's the owl's fault! Not Shade's! Not mine!'' Tears burn in my eyes and I clench my teeth together refusing to cry. I hold my ears and try to block out the angry voices, but it's too much and they seem to go straight through my mind._  
_They surround me in a sinister circle and begin pushing me further towards the flames._  
  
_''Stop it! Please!'' But the voices don't cease. They just get louder and angrier and push me further and further. Then I stumble backward and fall straight into the fire screaming in fright.''_

* * *

''Vanessa, Wake up!''  
  
With a gasp, I opened my eyes, feeling someone shaking me violently by the shoulders. I turned around and saw Mercury looking at me with concern.  
  
''Are you alright?'' he asked worriedly.  
  
I took a few breaths to calm myself down from the dream I just had and nodded slowly.  
''Y-yes ... I'm fine.''  
  
''You sure? I saw you tossing around in your sleep and then heard you screaming.''  
  
''Oh,'' I said, feeling slightly embarrassed and looked around hoping I didn't wake anybody else up as well.  
  
''Don't worry your scream wasn't that loud. I probably wouldn't even have heard it at all if I didn't fly over to you,'' Mercury said, noticing me glancing around nervously.  
He couldn't fool me. I knew bat ears a very sensitive. For sure someone must have heard me beside him but it seemed they were all either too tired or just didn't care about it. Still, it was nice of him to soothe me like this.  
  
''Now, what happened?'' Mercury asked, ''Did you have a nightmare or something?''  
  
''Well, ...'' I thought about it. Normally I quickly forgot most of what happens in my dreams but this time every detail was stuck in my head as if it all happened for real and not just parts of it.  
  
''Do you want to talk about it?'' he asked cautiously. I didn't even notice him sitting down next to me on the straw. Blinking away some tears I shook my head. ''You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I could also get Ariel or Frieda for you if prefer talking to them instead.'' Again I shook my head.  
  
''No, thank you. I'm fine. I just need to be alone for a moment,'' I mumbled, not looking at him. Mercury frowned obviously not believing me. ''Please!'' I asked him forcefully whereupon he briefly nodded before flying back up to his roost.  
  
As soon as he was gone I rolled myself back into the straw.

For a while, I just laid there staring into nothingness still thinking about my dream and more. Silent tears streamed over my eyes and I clenched my teeth together, not allowing myself to cry.  
Eventually, I got too tired to stay awake any longer and fell asleep.

* * *

Early the next night, the Silverwings continued their journey towards Stonehold in order to meet there with the adult males of the colony before migrating together to Hibernaculum.  
  
As one of the strongest fliers, Chinook flew close to the top where the elders were.  
However, instead of being excited that it wasn't long until he would finally meet his father for the first time in his life, his thoughts went far away.

Unenthusiastically he flapped his wings up and down, not caring what's going on around him and so didn't notice Todd catching up to him with a frown on his face.  
  
''Nice going Chickenwing,'' the chubby mocked him, causing Chinook to glare at him with his neck fur standing up in annoyance.  
  
''What do you mean?'' he demanded to know.  
  
''Well, this is as much your fault as it is Shade or Vanessa's,'' said Todd.  
  
''What?''  
  
''If you hadn't taken up Shade on that stupid dare this wouldn't have happened.''  
  
''I'll show you who's a chicken, '' Chinook snarled, feeling exasperated about Todd's assertion and tried to tackle him in midair but the other bat easily dodged his attack.  
  
''Chinook, just remember. I know what you did.''  
  
The dark blue male threw his friend another glare before turning away, his expression changing to guilt.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few thousand wing beats away from the Silverwings, a small maple leaf floated through the wind towards a city close to the forest. Like in all big cities, the streets showed brightly thanks to numerous lanterns and shining signs, while cars honked on the streets and sirens howled.

Undeterred, the leaf kept floating around through the wind until it came across a building where it got sucked into the ventilation shaft and into the interior of the building. Again, the maple leaf swirled around until it finally landed on the grassy ground in the midst of an artificial jungle. Behind a wall of glass stood a desk with scientific utensils such as test tubes with different kinds of chemicals inside and other things. Also, there was light in the room but not a signal person to see.

Suddenly footsteps approached the leaf, and a shadow hovered above it.  
After a short consideration, the leaf got picked up by a sharp claw and a pair of sly yellow eyes studied it more closely before looking up to the ventilation shaft it had come from. A satisfying grin appeared on his face as lightning flashed behind the large glass window on the roof, followed by thunder. Finally, the time had come. Tonight, he would be free.

* * *

''Meh,'' I said disgruntled while laying down on Ariel's back, trying to make myself as small as possible, but I was already soaking wet from the heavy rain.

The storm had caught us without warning and the strong wind made it hard for everyone to keep on course.  
  
''Are you doing alright dear?'' Ariel asked me over her shoulder and I nodded, my eyes squeezed shut due to the rain. Since our departure from the barn, she kept asking me if I was fine from time to time. It was nice but also a little annoying and I wondered if Mercury might have told her anything about my bad dream yesterday.  
  
''Don't worry we will be out of the storm in no time. You will see.''  
  
I nodded again and wished I had an umbrella or something with me and were back on the ground instead hundreds of miles up in the air. _''I'll just close my eyes and snooze a little,'' _I thought and tried not to think too much of the height but then the wind increased and I dug my fingers deeper into Ariel's fur not wanting to fall off.  
  
''Heavy gusts!'' I heard Frieda calling from the top as the wind blew stronger, ''Keep in tight formation!'' At her command, the Silverwings flew closer together while I kept hold on Ariel as tight as I could. Luckily she was a strong flier and therefore had no big problems with my extra weight on her back though she did start panting a little from the effort.  
  
Shade, however, seemed to have more problems keeping up. Looking back, I noticed him desperately flapping his short wings to keep up with the bats up front but the wind pushed him further away towards the end of the colony.  
  
''Come on, I know you can do it runt,'' Chinook said to him in a strangely encouraging tone before flying ahead. Shade tried to fly faster but without success.  
  
''You are lagging too far behind. Hang on to your mother boy!'' cried Bathsheba, who supervised the rear end as she flew past him with a disapproving shake of her head.  
Again Shade tried to force his wings to carry him faster but to his chagrin, it didn't work. Even the older and weaker bats in the colony passed him already.  
  
Lightning flashed and Shade got thrown further away. Seeing this I quickly reported it to Ariel who turned around with a gasp and immediately flew over to her son's side.  
  
''Cling to me Shade!'' she cried out to him through the rain and glided under him but the young Silverwing just shook his head.  
  
''No,'' he said determined while flapped his wings even harder now,'' I'm fine. Besides, you are already caring Vanessa.''  
  
''So? You need a break. Someone else can carry me for a while,'' I called to him, feeling slightly annoyed because of his childish behavior. This wasn't the time or place to try proving that he's not a weakling.  
  
''Seriously, I'm fine. I can handle it,'' he repeated panting and threw a brief irritated glance at me.  
  
I snorted in annoyance and squinted my eyes because of the fierce wind and the rain.  
''Now, come on Shade. Don't be such a baby and get over here!'' Forgetting my high anxiety for a moment I got up to my knees on Ariel's back and reached over to grab Shade by his feet in order to pull him down to his mother. At that moment, another lightning struck down, this time straight through the middle of the colony, scattering them apart.  
Thanks to the turbulence I lost my balance on Ariel's back and fell off, accidentally pulling Shade with me into the depths whose feet I managed to get a hold on.  
  
''SHADE! VANESSA!'' Ariel cried out in horror.  
  
Mercury heard her and immediately flew over to help. Without hesitation, he passed the other Silverwings as fast as he could, fear written on his face. He stretched out his hand in an attempt to save us and for a moment he managed to get a hold on a part of my leaf dress but it ripped off as he tried to pull me and Shade back up.  
  
''AHHH! MERCURY, ARIEL! HELP!'' Shade and I cried out in panic as we helplessly plunged down through the clouds.


	8. Castaway

"NO!" Ariel cried out and hurried to save her son and their human friend. Desperately she tried to reach at least one of them but the wind kept forcing her back without mercy.  
Eventually, she had to give up and helplessly watched the outlines of Shade and Vanessa getting smaller and smaller until they completely disappeared in the clouds.

On her right, Mercury was just as shocked as she was. Also starring down at the clouds underneath them, the piece that ripped off from Vanessa's dress still in his claws.  
For a moment they were both too shocked to say anything until Mercury managed to pull himself together and dashed towards the front to inform Frieda about what happened.  
Ariel, however, just kept looking down, not wanting to believe she may have lost her only son right before her eyes.  
With all her heart she prayed to Nocturna that Shade and Vanessa would be alright.

* * *

Seagulls.  
That was the first thing I heard as I finally gained consciousness again. Seagulls and the sound of waves close to, ... wherever I was.  
Opening my eyes, I realized that I somehow tangled myself up in a bunch of seaweed lying on an unfamiliar shore. I crawled out of it and looked at my surroundings when I noticed some rustling. First, I thought it was a crab or some kind of other sea creature but then  
I realized that it was just Shade whose blue colored head peaked out from the seaweed right next to me. Coughing, he struggled to get out of it then spotted me to his right.   
  
''Vanessa! Oh, man I'm so glad to see you. Are you alright?'' he asked, his eyes shining with relief.  
  
''I'm fine. Just a few scratches,'' I said while checking myself for any wounds. Besides a few bruises there seemed to be nothing serious. ''The seaweed probably caught us.''  
  
''That and the wind. Did you also feel like it was holding you a little?''

I nodded. ''Yes, it felt like something was slowing down our fall,'' I said, remembering how it felt like the wind was trying to decelerate our fall before losing my consciousness out of shock and fear.  
  
''Say, do you have any ideas where we are?'' Shade asked, looking around with a frown.  
  
''No,'' I replied, checking our surroundings as well. ''But it seems we stranded on some kind of coast but I can't tell you ... Hold on! Did you hear that?'' A sudden clacking caught my attention as I turned my head around. Then a red-colored crab popped its head up from behind a small hill straight before us, followed by two more crabs.  
  


''Oh — oh!'' I said watching the crabs quickly crawling over to us, clattering their pincers.  
They didn't look very pleased to see us.  
  
''Uh... What are those?'' Shade asked, nervously while watching the crustaceans coming closer.  
  
''Crabs!'' I said ''But I don't think they are happy to see us Shade.''  
  
''Why? We haven't done anything to ... Hey!''  
  
He flinched back as one crab snipped its pincers close to his ear, missing him only by an inch. Another one tried grabbing my arm but luckily it just cut the seaweed instead.  
Shade and I moved around, trying our best to avoid the sharp pincers but also let them cut us free from the tang.  
  
As soon as we were free, Shade jumped into the air and grabbed my hands with his feet before flying off into the forest and away from the angry crabs. Their threatening clattering died away, the further we got away from the shore.  
  
Confused and disoriented Shade fluttered with me through this unfamiliar forest while we both looked around hoping to see one of the Silverwings or at least some other bat who could help us.  
But all we encountered was a pair of creepy red eyes in the leafage and some angry growling in a seemingly abandoned treehole.  
Still, we kept looking around, not wanting to give up just yet but eventually Shade needed a break, and so he landed us on the branch of a tree whose leaves were all colorful red, orange or yellow.  
  
''Are you sure they are around here somewhere?'' I asked, feeling unsure.  
  
''Of course. They wouldn't just leave us behind,'' Shade replied as if it was the most obvious in the world but I could also hear a bit of uncertainty in his voice.  
I felt bad thinking it was probably my fault we ended up in this situation. If I hadn't tried to force Shade to cling to his mom by pulling him down by his foot, I wouldn't have lost my balance on Ariel's back and we would still be with the colony. But at least Shade wasn't blaming me for it. At least not now.  
  
Shade sighed and scanned the area again. ''You really don't see or hear anyone?'' he asked with a hint of hope in his voice but I shook my head.  
  
''No Shade,'' I replied mirthlessly, causing him to sigh again.  
  
''Great and what are we doing here now?'' he asked when an unexpected voice suddenly spoke right behind us.

''That's something I could ask you two just as well.''

With a gasp Shade and I, both turned around expecting to see the owner of the voice but instead we saw only a wall of colorful leaves. Then again something seemed strange.  
One of the leaves, a bright orange one, looked much thicker than the others but before I could investigate it more closely it suddenly moved.  
To our surprise the leaf unfolded two leathery wings, revealing the head and body of a female bat.  
She was young but apparently a bit older than Shade due to her more mature features. Her beige colored fur and a dark brown mane with orange colored wings and ash-blond hair reminded me of the fall. Also, did it perfectly camouflage her among the other leaves.  
  
''I asked you two a question,'' she repeated glaring at us with her dazzling green eyes.  
  
Shade couldn't stop staring at her. ''You are a bat!'' he blurted out in astonishment causing the female to roll her eyes at him in annoyance.

''You are a genius. Of course, I'm a bat,'' she replied cocky and jumped down to us on the branch. Staring at us distrustfully she crossed her wings before her chest wrinkled her nose a bit at my sight as if she saw a disgusting bug before quickly looking away with a huff.  
Raising my eyebrow I wonder what her problem was but kept my mouth shut while she observed Shade from head to toe.  
  
''Gee, you are like a bat,'' she said thoughtfully, ''only smaller.''  
  
''Who are you?'' Shade asked.  
  
''Not so fast. I ask the questions around here. So, who are you?'' she demanded to know, refusing to tell us her own name first.  
  
''I'm Shade and this is Vanessa,'' Shade replied, pointing to himself and at me.  
  
''And what do you think you are doing on my island?''  
  
''We got separated from our colony,'' Shade explained and raised his eyebrow in confusion while studying her appearance a bit more. ''What's wrong with your fur?'' he asked pointing towards her bright colored belly.  
  
''Wrong?'' The female blinked in confusion and looked down on herself. ''What do you mean? There is nothing wrong with my fur,'' she said huffy and placed her hands on her hips, looking rather insulted.  
  
'Eh, it's all ... light,'' Shade said not understanding what he could have said wrong.  
  
The female chuckled in amusement, noticing his confusion. ''Small and clueless,'' she said rolling her eyes at his naivety. ''I'm a Brightwing, of course!''  
  
''I didn't know there were other kinds of bats,'' Shade admitted and glanced over at me with astonishment written on his face before looking back to the Brightwing female.  
  
''Where have you been living? Under a rock?'' she asked chuckling softly.  
  
''No! In a tree,'' Shade muttered, turning his eyes away.  
  
''So, how did you get separated from your colony? Did they ... uhm ... banish you?'' she asked, looking a little more sympathetically at Shade, who stared back at her in shock.

''Oh, what? No! I ... I mean, we were blown off course,'' he replied.  
  
''Really?'' she grinned at him, seemingly not believing his words, ''Sure your wings weren't just big enough to keep you on course?'' she asked mockingly and raised up her own set of wings to demonstrate their big size with were far larger than his.  
  
''I don't need this,'' Shade growled and flew up to grab my hands with his feet. ''Come on Vanessa, let's get outta here.''  
I nodded, wanting away from here as well. With her bitchy attitude, this female reminded me too much of Chinook.  
However, we didn't get far when the Brightwing stopped us by fluttering right in front of us.  
  
''Hey, where do you think you are going?'' she asked.  
  
''Preferably somewhere you aren't,'' I said glaring at her, but she simply ignored me and spoke to Shade instead.  
  
''You do realize that the sun is coming up? In your case, I wouldn't waste time by flying around as if I don't know where I'm going but search for a hideout instead.''  
  
''Uh ... sure. That's just where we were off to anyways,'' Shade replied, but she could hear the uncertainty in his voice.  
  
''You know what. I'll be so kind and let you spend the day at my place. Just follow me it's not far.''  
  
''Don't do us any favors,'' Shade muttered not wanting to fly after her.  
  
''Shade, maybe it's better we go with her, the horizon is brightening up already, '' I said looking east, noticing the sky lightening up a little while hearing birds chirping around.  
  
''You should listen to your friend here little one. Oh, and by the way ... my name is Marina.''  
And with that she flew off into the forest, leaving us no choice but to follow her.

* * *

At the same time back at the artificial jungle, the shadow who had studied the small leave flew up to the air vent high on the wall. With just one of his razor sharp claws he peeled the concrete around the grid as if it was as soft as butter and then used both of his hands to pull the grid out of its place with amazing strength and let it crash down on the floor together with some crumbs of concrete.  
With sinister laugh he vanished through the shaft and into his freedom, accompanied by another one of his kind.

* * *

The next evening I woke up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and checked my surroundings.  
Yesterday Marina brought us to her roost, an abandoned fishing hut which was mostly empty aside from a bundle of fishing nets and a few old and dirty sails and blankets lying around together with some pots. A few of them broken.  
  
Looking around I noticed our acquaintance to be missing because besides me there was only Shade roosting upside down from a robe above me, sleeping the sleep of the just.  
Feeling a bit hungry I decided to find myself some food and quietly got up from my makeshift bed made out of leaves and remnants not wanting to wake up Shade.  
  
A cold wind blew through the cracks in the roof, sending a shiver through my body.  
I was still wearing nothing but those leaves I provisionally wrapped around my body after I found myself shrunk. But after all, what happened this thing really needed a makeover. It was practically nothing more but a piece of shreds. Still, I was lucky that it at least kept my private parts hidden.  
  
Nevertheless, I needed something new to wear. That was for sure but what could I use?  
Without the required materials there was no way I could at least try sewing myself a new dress out of the remains of my bed.  
No, I needed something else, preferably some clothes ready to wear. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing like this lying around until I spotted something behind two pots.  
It was a doll. A little tattered and dirty but apart from that it looked just fine, wearing a sand colored, long-sleeved native American styled top plus skirt and dark brown moccasin boots.  
  
''This could come in handy,'' I mumbled to myself, contemplating the doll and began changing my ragged leaf clothes with theirs with fit me surprisingly perfectly. With a smile I turned my body around, feeling happy to have normal clothes on again, though a skirt might be not the warmest thing to wear during winter in a place like Canada   
Luckily the doll wore also a fluffy white hooded cloak which was thick enough to keep me warm from the cold wind.  
  
As soon as I finished putting my new clothes on I heard wing beats coming from a crack in the roof and looked up to see Marina flying back in.  
  
''Oh, I see you are awake,'' she said, though she didn't sound too happy about it.

With an appraising look, Marina eyed my new outfit. Obviously unimpressed.  
''I see you put some fresh leaves on or whatever that is your kind is wearing,'' she said emphasizing the phrase ''your kind'' as if it was something unpleasant, but before I could say something I noticed Shade waking up from his nap.  
  
''Evening,'' he greeted us with a yawn while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  
  
''Hey there sleepy head,'' Marina said looking much friendlier at him than at me earlier. ''Now that you are awake I can finally show you around the island, just so you know where my territory is,'' she said and flew out before either Shade or I could say anything against it.  
Both of us exchanged a short look and shrugged then followed her outside. 

* * *

Moments later we were flying alongside the cost next to Marina while listening to her speech about where her territory starts and ends.  
''From the barnacle covered rocks to the old cider tree that's mine,'' she explained, ''And from the waterfall to the north cove, that's mine.''  
  
Shade seemed impressed. ''You have this whole place to yourself?'' he asked her with awe.  
  
''Pretty much.''  
  
''Wow. We are totally surrounded by water,'' he said, his eyes gazing our surroundings as we flew along the coast.

''Duh, that's what an island is,'' Marina said rolling her eyes at Shade's lack of knowledge about such stuff.  
  
''Say, are more bats on this island besides you?'' I asked knowing that northern bats usually don't live alone by themselves.  
  
''Nope, the island is pretty much empty for that matter, but they are lots of other animals to keep company.''  
  
''For how long have you been here?'' Shade asked.  
  
''Since last spring. I was pretty much lucky to find this place. It practically saved my life after it got destroyed by certain creatures,'' Marina said while throwing a short icy glance at which made me wonder once more what she had against me when I didn't even do anything wrong to her.  
  
After a few more minutes, flying around Marina turned to Shade and once again checked out his size then shook her head. ''Look,''she said,''You are obviously too small to make it back to the mainland especially while carrying the furless all the time never mind catching up with your colony so...''

''I don't care!'' he said, ''We are not going back.''  
  
I quickly looked up feeling confused about his outburst. ''What...?''  
  
''You can hang with me ... Wait!'' Marina's happy expression changed to concern after realizing what he just said. ''You don't care?'' she asked looking at him puzzled, ''What's that about?''  
  
''I broke the law, I looked at the sun.'' Marina gasped in horror and stared at us for a second before following us to the woods and down to a branch.  
  
''You looked at the sun?'' she asked looking at Shade then laughed a little as if she didn't believe it, ''You are pulling my wing.''  
  
I shook my head. ''No he really did ... we did I should better say but the owls found out and destroyed Tree-Heaven.''  
  
Shade nodded with a sigh and lowered his eyes in shame. ''And it's all my fault. The colony is better off without me.'' I tried to say something, but he quickly cut me off, shaking his head. ''No, Vanessa, it's true. If I hadn't come up with that stupid bet everything would still be fine.''  
  
Marina looked at him sympathetically then jumped from her roost to the lower branch where I stood.''Hey, it could have been a lot worse,'' she said trying to cheer him up a little while holding up her hand to him in an encouraging gesture. Just then I realized the silver band stuck to her left wrist

Shade's eyes widen, noticing it too. ''You've got a band!'' he exclaimed excitedly and pointed at her wrist.

Marina looked shocked for a second and quickly covered the silver metal under her wing.

''What band? ... Oh, you mean this band!? Got a problem with that?'' she asked glaring at us. We both shook our heads, confused about her reaction.

''Ehm, no,'' Shade said, ''Should we?''  
  
"Don't you know? ... It's cursed." she hissed through her teeth.  
  
''Now wait a moment Marina. That's not ...'' I lift up my hands trying to reason with her, but she quickly interrupted me.  
  
''Save it furless,'' she scoffed at me angrily,'' ''I don't need to hear any lies coming from someone like you, just to make me feel better or something.''  
I looked away feeling hurt by those words but instead of feeling sorry for what she just said, Marina simply implied she was hungry and flew off.  
  
''You should follow her Shade,'' I said quietly, ''You haven't eaten since we got into the storm. I'll wait for you here.'' I didn't even know why Marina's words hurt me so much but I wanted to be alone for a moment albeit Shade had other ideas.  
  
''You haven't anything since then as well,'' he said, ''Come on, let's try finding some food together.'' He took off and grabbed my hands with his feet and flew into the forest.  
  
It didn't take long for us until we caught back up with Marina. The Brightwing was chasing a tiger moth when she notices us flying behind her. Instead of chasing us away she kept concentrating on her prey and managed to grab it with her hind claws and carried it towards a tree where she then roosted upside down. Shade followed her wordlessly and set me down on the branch below before roosting beside her.  
  
''I was out hunting. All alone,'' Marina began, holding the dead moth in her claws, ''Suddenly I was hanging in mid-air, caught in this huge net. Then ... this giant hand reached in and ... that's when they banded me,'' she looked away, sighing deeply.  
  
''Then what happened?'' Shade asked.  
  
''I flew home,'' she said, ''but when the other Brightwings saw me with this band they banished me.''  
  
''Why?''  
  
''When the humans tag you, you're marked for certain death,'' she said and threw another icy glance at me before gulping down her moth within a few bites.  
  
''Death? Are you sure? I mean I know someone who ...'' Shade tried to tell her something but Marina quickly cut him off not wanting to talk more about it. Nevertheless, did I try to explain the truth to her myself.

''Marina the bands are not a curse,'' I said, ''My kind band bats to keep track on them in order to help them not to get extinct.''  
  
''Why should I believe what you say after what your kind did to me? I've lost everything. My friends, my family. All because of this stupid band.'' she shoved her banded wing right into my face, growling at me. ''Even if it's not the bands fault for what happened to me, it's certainly yours and your kinds fault. After all it was you who made this stupid thing and put it on my wing.''

I opened my mouth to object but couldn't find the right words. Instead I closed it again and just looked away with my teeth pressed together in order to hold back the urge to cry even though tears started to burn in my eye. Why was she so mean to me? It wasn't my fault what happened to her. I wasn't the one who banded her.  
Marina just huffed at me angrily and stormed off with a snarl.  
  
I swallowed my sadness down and looked away, trying not to take what she said to heart too much while Shade jumped down to me, consolingly putting a hand on my shoulder.  
''It's alright Vanessa. I'm sure she doesn't mean it,'' he said, ''She is just upset about what happened the last time she encountered a human.''  
  
''I know,'' I said while rubbing the tears out of my eyes,''But that still doesn't give her the right to blame me for it just because I'm a human as well.'' Shade let out a sigh and seemed to think about what they should do now, then my stomach starts to growl. I totally forgot that I still haven't eaten anything yet.  
  
''Come on, let's grab some food and leave this place, ok?!''  
  
''I thought you wanted to stay here?'' I asked looking at Shade in confusion, but the Silverwing shook his head. ''Not with a bat who isn't willing to accept you as their friend as well.''

I nodded thinking the same and let him carry me down to the ground near the shore and close to a bush full of juicy berries.  
Plucking some out I felt glad to have something to eat that aren't bugs and watched Shade flying off into the forest, probably to catch some food for himself.  
  
For a moment I just sat there next to the bush, eating my berries and thought about the future.  
Sure this place was nice, especially with the magnificent view of the sea. Yet, Shade was right.

No matter how beautiful it looked, no place could be called home if its inhabitants only welcomed one of us.

With a sigh I finished my last berry and got back up to walk a bit around the coast while waiting for Shade to return.

As I was walking, I looked out to the sea and listened to the soft rustling of the waves. A soft breeze blew through my hair and blew a few strands into my face. I stopped for a moment to put them back behind my ears and hopped over some pebbles with my arms stretched out, trying not to fall off.  
Then I looked up to see the sparkling stars in the sky above. For a while I just stood there, admiring the beauty of the nightsky until the wind picked up again.

I jumped down from the pebble and walked over to a patch of grass. There I sat down with my back leaning against a small rock and scribbled some random picture into the sand with a stick.   
With a soft sigh, I glanced back up at the starry sky and felt my eyes getting heavy. Letting out a soft yawn I made myself comfortable against the rock and closed my eyes for a short nap. I barely fell asleep when suddenly I heard Shade screaming in panic. Immediately I spun around, now fully awake, and looked around to see what was going on.

The two bats were flying over the sea as a killer whales came seemingly out of nowhere and charged towards them with its mouth wide open.

''MARINA!'' I shouted in alarm, see the whale was swimming straight towards her, but it was too late. The orca snapped its mouth shut around the Brightwing before she could fly away and plunged into the water.

For a moment I just stood there in shock, not knowing what to do while Shade circled over the sea.  
Just then the whale showed up again, blowing its blowhole free from water which got me an idea.

''Shade!'' I called, ''Quick! Cover the orca's blowhole on top of its head. So it opens its mouth.''  
The Silverwing nodded, showing that he understood the plan and dived towards the orca’s head, where he threw his small body on top of its spout, clutching on to it.

''LET HER GO!'' he grunted. Immediately the whale felt like something was wrong and twisted and turned its body around to get the pesky bat from its blowhole. Like glue, Shade stuck on its head and kept his hold while the killer whale plunged underwater trying to lose or drown him.

Mesmerized I watched the whole scene from the coast, unable to help. Then finally, the whale’s strength faded. Tired and beaten it had no choice but to open its mouth to get some air and Marina flew out as quick as she could. Her fur was covered in saliva, but she lost no time to wash herself and rushed back to the island.

I sighed in relief and watched Shade releasing the whale by getting shot up from its head by a fountain of air. He rolled over a few times in the air, but then caught himself quickly and came to me in order to grab me with his feet and followed Marina towards a totem pole close to the fishing hut. There he set me on top of one of its stone wings and roosted underneath next to the Brightwing.  
She had already shaken of the yucky spit from her fur looked at Shade with admiration written on her face.

"You saved my life," she said.

''Oh, that was nothing,'' Shade smiled humbly, ''Besides it was actually Vanessa here you should be thankful at. She told me to block the blowhole from the whale.''  
  
''...I see,'' Marina said and glanced up at me shortly, seemingly unsure what to say. I just nodded telling her it's alright. It was clear we wouldn't automatically become friends just because I supposedly helped Shade rescue her from that whale.  
  
''Anyways,'' Shade started again, probably getting uncomfortable with the silence between us three, ''Marina, you didn't let me finish what I was saying about the band.''  
  
''Oh, that...'' Marina looked away visibly unhappy about the fact that he brought up that topic again.  
  
''Frieda, our elder, has a band just like yours,'' Shade said quickly before Marina could even think about flying off again. Instead, she stayed where she was, glancing at the young male with astonishment.  
  
''An elder ... banded? Like me?'' she asked with disbelieve.  
  
''Well, maybe not exactly like...''  
  
''And she is old?''  
  
Shade nodded with a smile, ''Practically ancient,'' he said then flew up to me on top of the wooden wing with Marina.  
  
''Then maybe the bands doesn't mean certain death,'' Marina said thoughtfully.''  
  
Shade shrugged, ''Well, that orca didn't get you,'' he said. Marina nodded, still thinking about it.

''Maybe,'' she said, ''it means that I'm destined to be an elder too.''  
  
''Elder Marina,'' Shade smiled, ''I like the sound of that.''  
  
I had to admit it had a nice ring to it though it probably won't ever happen if she stayed on this island especially with no other bats around.  
Shade, however, didn't seem to worry about that and told Marina everything from what we learned from Frieda in the Echo-Chamber and about Nocturna's great promise.  
  


''I knew about Nocturna,'' Marina said thoughtfully, ''and I've also heard something about the great battle but in my old colony, they never told us anything about this promise. You really think we can come back into the sun?''  
  
''I don't know how but it sounds like something worth to fight for. It can't be that the owls and other animals keep us in the dark just because our ancestors didn't take a side in that stupid battle of theirs,'' Shade said frowning with determination and I nodded agreeing with him.  
  
Marina chuckled with a grin. ''You really are quite the little troublemaker, aren't you? Go see the sun, scare your mother to death, get your roost burned down by the owls. You really aren't the most popular bat in your colony I bet.''  
  
''He he yeah, probably,'' Shade chuckled.  
  
''Alright you guys, when do we leave?''   
  
''Leave?'' Shade asked.  
  
''Yeah, to join your colony, so I can meet this Frieda.''  
  
''I ... I can't,'' he said, shaking his head. ''I can't face my colony. Not after losing Tree-Heaven.''  
I sighed softly as he looked away in shame of what happened, knowing it's my fault as well.  
Marina looked at us compassionately before putting a hand on the small Silverwings shoulder.  
  
''Come on Shade, don't be so hard on yourself. At least your colony didn't banish you.  
  
''_Or feed you to the owls''_, I added in thought.  
  
''I just wish you could have seen Tree-Heaven Marina. It was the biggest hollow oak ever with the gnarliest roosts and all kinds of chambers and roosts and ... and...'' Shade stopped sighing once more while telling her about his old home. Marina's face lighted up a little as if she got an idea and flew up from the roost and us to follow her.  
Shade and I looked at each other, wondering what she was up to before following her into the forest.  
  
''Hey, where are we going?'' Shade asked as we kept flying deeper through the thicket.  
  
''Just a little further.'' Marina sang cheerfully and just a few wing beats later we came to a clearing with a giant bare tree right in the middle of it.  
Shade and I were amazed by its size. It looked way much bigger than the tree the Silverwings had used as their nursery home.  
  
"So?'' Marina asked looking at us with a grin, ''What do you think? Its big, it's hollow, it's gnarly-.''  
  
''It's amazing!'' I said as we checked the tree from all sides inside and out. It was huge with several small entrance holes in the bark and enough room for more than hundreds or more bats to fit in.  
  
"It's perfect! This can be our new Tree-Heaven," Shade said joyfully and landed me and himself beside Marina on a branch of another tree close by. "We've got to let the colony know about this Vanessa.''  
  
''Of course,'' I said smiling. Shade smiled back and turned to Marina. ''I guess you get to meet Frieda after all.''  
  
''Then it's settled,'' the Brightwing said happily, ''we head for the mainland. Together.''  
  
''But, which way is mainland?'' I asked. Instead of answering Marina just grinned and pointed out towards the open sea. I looked and gulped with my heart sinking down. This was going to be one long flight.


	9. Unwelcome

''It can be a rough ride,'' said Marina, as we hang and sat there on the branch with a crescent moon shining in the clear sky accompanied by a few stars and a soft breeze flowing through our hair and fur. ''But you shouldn't have too much trouble even with those stubby wings of yours.''  
  
''My wings aren't stubby!'' Shade said frowning at her.  
  
''Well, they are certainly not as big as mine,'' she said, stretching herself a bit, ''It's a simple fact: The bigger the wings, the faster you fly and up here on the high sea speed is the name of the game my little friend and in that department, I've got the edge.''  
I just rolled my eyes while listening to this and hoped we won't regret traveling with her if she keeps going on with this.  
  
''All I know is me and Vanessa made it through the storm last night,'' Shade muttered, ''And those winds were pretty bad. I can handle it.''  
  
''Sure, if you say so. But don't expect me to carry you as soon as your wings grow tired on the way,'' With that Marina lifted off from her roost with Shade following her a few seconds after with me dangling under his feet.

I wished I could fly as well and hoped Shade won't accidently let go of me like he did when we broke the law and glimpsed at the sun.

Taking an unwanted bath in the sea wasn't in my interest and I doubted Marina would offer to carry me instead should Shade really grow tired after a while.  
At least the weather was calm and clear unlike last last night during the storm.  
  
''I never thought I would leave that Island,'' Marina said after a short while closing her eyes with a sigh. ''You guys do remember what an island is right? Body of land. Surrounded by water." Instead of answering Shade just grunted and panted while trying to catch up with her. ''Keep it up Shade. You are doing great. For a Silverwing.''   
I wondered if she thought about convincing Shade to drop me into the water to move quicker and held tighter onto his feet.  
  
''Don't worry Vanessa. I've got you.'' Shade grunted with effort. I just nodded at him thankfully not wanting to start a conversation at our current situation.  
  
''Come on it will soon be sunrise,'' Marina reminded us and as I took a glance at the eastern sky I could see the horizon lightening up already.  
  
''Thanks for the update.'' Shade muttered and flapped his wings a bit harder.  
Suddenly I heard squawking over the clouds above us, which sounded like laughing. Right then a seagull glided down to us from the clouds, chuckling in amusement.  
  
''What's so funny?'' Shade asked frowning at him.  
  
''You guys are working way too hard.'' the bird said, chuckling some more than flew back up into the clouds. Slightly confused I watched Marina following the bird and heard her ordering Shade to fly higher as well.  
The seagull from before circled around us together with two others chuckling and squawking with joy.  
  
''You brought us here to watch feeble bird tricks?'' Shade asked Marina slightly annoyed due how exhausted he must've felt.  
  
“No, just hold your wings out,'' Shade looked at her funny but did as he was told just to drop down a few centimeters, making me squeak in fright. Luckily he quickly caught himself again and flapped his wings back up to Marina. I clung to his feet as if my life depended on it.

''Don't ... do this ...again!'' I hissed, still feeling startled.  
  
''Sorry,'' Shade said sheepishly and looked back at Marina to see her holding her wings out like he did earlier but unlike him, she didn't fall but glided through the air without effort. Curiously he carefully spread his wings out again and was surprised at the feeling of the wind that seemed to carry him over the sea.  
  
''Oh, wow. This is so much easier,'' he said joyfully.  
  
"Yeah its was pretty clever of me," Marina smirked.  
I raised my eyebrow, knowing she probably just took it from the seagulls floating around us.  
Then Shade came up with a brilliant idea about a race towards mane land.  
Before I object, the Silverwing took off, not even finishing the countdown and rushed ahead with the help of the wind on his back.  
I felt sick.  
  
Luckily, I didn't have to endure this hell of a trip for long. Shortly before sunrise we finally reached the coast and looked for a good place to rest in a small cave nearby.  
Shade and Marina kept chattering about their race and debated on who had won for hours while I couldn't care less about it and just laid down on the rocks, using my new cloak as a pillow and fell asleep.

* * *

In the city, not too far away from the coast, two pigeons sat on a rooftop deeply involved in a friendly conversation not feeling like they have to worry about a thing in the word. Not even the loud purring sound of the circling fan in the air vent close behind them seemed to bother them much.  
  
''Haha so the next thing you know blamo! He's flown right into the other bird again,'' one of the pigeons laughed telling his friend a funny story about someone else not noticing the danger that sneaked further from the depths of the air vent.  
Silently like the night, the rotation of the fan got stopped by a clawed hand and a dark figure quickly rushed out and up to the two oblivious birds.  
  
''And then it hits me,'' the pigeon continues with a wing over his head, ''I says: It's a mirror. Oh boy did he feel stu ... Huh!'' He stopped talking noticing a giant shadow looming over him.

Eyes widen in shock as he watched a creature like he had never seen before grabbing his friend by the neck and dragging him away to kill him instantly. Petrified with horror the pigeon covered a nasty scratch on his neck with blood oozing out of it before letting his surviving instinct kick in and dash away as fast as he could, screaming in terror.

* * *

The next evening I woke up to the sound of the wind blowing over the sea and a dry feeling in my throat.  
Not wanting to wake up the others, I carefully got up and climbed out of the cave in search of a few drops of fresh water.  
Outside the sun was nearly gone, turning the horizon into a beautiful picture of orange and pink.  
Despite hearing water dripping, the only aquatic liquid I could find was a few drops falling from the roof of the cave that barely eased my thirst and the sea close by which was much too salty to be drinkable. Hoping I might find something better I kept wandering over the sandy ground until I heard wings flapping behind me.

Turning around I saw Shade landing behind me with a couple of berries in his claws.  
''Here, ''he said, handing them over to me, ''I was looking for you after I woke up and found this berries at the edge of a forest close by. Thought you might be hungry, so I picked them for you.''  
  
''Thank you, Shade,'' I smiled at him thankfully and took the berries, feeling hungry indeed.  
They tasted a little sour but it didn't matter. At least I had something to drink thanks to the berry juice.  
As I was eating Shade took off again, either to check on Marina or to go hunting. Probably both. I was still mentally debating on the idea of having her with us. She wasn't a bad person/bat but I still felt kinda unwelcome around her and I really hoped this would change soon otherwise this would be one hell of a journey. At least for me. Rather, would I travel around on my own, instead of being in company with someone who prefers that I leave the group as soon as possible.  
But like I said, things might change, so after I finished eating my berries I tried to think of something else until I saw Shade returning from his hunt accompanied by Marina.  
  
''Well, I suppose we dawdled away our time enough already,'' she said, ''we should get going or the sun will rise again before we even left the coast.''  
  
_''Geeze,''_ I thought, ''_The sun just barely set a moment ago, no need to panic.''_  
  
''Sure, let's go,'' Shade said seemingly not feeling bothered by Marina's tone.  
  
''Alright, then call up your sound map and check your colonies migration route.''  
  
Immediately the excitement vanished out of the Silverwings face. ''The ... what?''  
  
Marina rolled her eyes. ''Your sound map. You know that thing your mother sang into your ears before the beginning of your journey?!''  
  
''Oh, that. Hehe yeah I know,'' Shade said chuckling nervously which made me wonder if there was something wrong.

''So, would you please now tell us which way to go?'' I could see how annoyed Marina was getting by the way she looked at him with her wings crossed before her chest but I doubted Shade was playing some joke on her. He nervously bit down on his underlip as if thinking about what to tell her.  
  
''Eh, well the thing is I've ... never actually called up the sound map.'' he finally admitted, causing Marina to laughed at this probably thinking he was jokeking. But then she saw the shameful look on his face and groaned in annoyance.  
  
''Holy sunlight Shade, now you are telling me this?!''  
  
''Oh ... I ... It never came up before.''  
  
Marina let out a sigh shaking her head a little then looked back at Shade.  
''Okay listen! Close your eyes and try to remember what your mother sang to you.'' Shade did what she said and closed his eyes as he tried to focus on his mothers sound map. Unfortunately, he seemed to be having troubles concentrating and shut his eyes tightly while holding his head with both hands like he was having a headache. Eventually, he opened his eyes again with a gasp and shook his head heavily.  
  
''Overload,'' he said catching his breath, ''I can't process it all. How about we just use your sound map, Marina?''  
  
''Genius idea Shade, if we want to find my colony. Ugh,'' she ground and face palmed herself.  
  
''Just try it again. We don't need the whole map just the first part of it,'' I said trying to be helpful. Shade nodded and closed his eyes once more, concentrating hard.  
  
''... I see a human city nearby,'' he managed to say after a moment but before he could tell more Marina quickly cut him off.

''We'll start there,'' she simply said and flung herself back into the air.  
  
Oh boy_._ ''We better follow her Shade.'' He nodded and jumped into the air to grab my hands with his feet and after a few seconds, he finally managed to lift me off from the ground and took off after Marina.

* * *

We flew right along the coastline, following a human road and kept up a good pace through the night. Under my feet, the grass stretched for miles, sparkling with frost and despite the warm clothes I was wearing, I shivered like a leaf and even sneezed a few times. Hopefully, I wouldn't catch a cold or something. This was really the last thing I needed right now.  
  
''I've been thinking about this promise,'' Marina suddenly said after a while, ''About coming back into the light. Wouldn't we go blind?''  
  
''Only if you stare at the sun for too long,'' I explained.  
  
''But you guys just saw a bit of it right?''  
  
''Well yeah,'' Shade replied, ''But Vanessa here saw it all before comming to us. They just don't want us to have it. The other birds and beasts.'' he frowned thinking about this. ''Know what I think? If we could get the sun we'd grow, and we wouldn't have to worry about the owls hunting us. We can ask the other Silverwings. The males who are banded. ... If we ever catch up.''  
I followed Shade's gaze into the horizon silently wondering the same.  
  
''Do you think the humans will help us somehow?'' Marina asked Shade, peering doubtfully down at me.  
  
''That's what Frieda thinks. So I guess it's worth a try,'' he said with a shrug. Marina didn't reply anything to this and just kept flying silently beside Shade.  
  
Moments later I heard wings flapping not too far away from us and I looked to my right to see a colony of bats passing by.  
''Hey Shade, over there. I think it's your colony,'' I called out to him, causing the Silverwing to look at the bats as well, beaming with joy.

''Come on, Marina!'' Quickly Shade burst through the sky until he was close enough to the colony so the last ones should be able to hear him calling out to them. ''Hey! Hello! It's us. Shade and Vanessa. We are back.''  
  
Three bats to the rear stopped and looked back. Noticing us they came closer and for a moment I felt a grin appearing on my face imagining it to be Ariel or Mercury and how overjoyed they must be to see us. But as soon as the bats came closer I heard Shade breathing sadly and my expression changed into disappointment.  
  
Those weren't Silverwings. They were Greywings with thick grey fur and handsome sideburns covering their faces.  
Landing on the nearest tree we waited for the three bats to come talk to us. Maybe they could at least give us some informations about the Silverwings whereabouts.

It were three males. A young chubby one with light grey fur, amber eyes and black hair matching his mane and growing beard, a slightly older one with darker fur, blue hair and brown eyes and a middle aged male with pale blue eyes, silver colored fur and dark grey wings.

His body was covered in lots of faded scars he probably got from fights in his younger years and his left hand was even missing half of his thumbclaw.  
  
''Where are you two headed?'' the chubby one asked, smiling down at us friendly, seemingly not noticing me behind my two companions.  
  
''We are looking for the Silverwing colony,'' Shade said, ''Have you seen them?''  
  
To our frustration, the Greywing shook his head. ''We came from the northwest. We saw a few other colonies but no Silverwings.''  
  
''Which way were they headed?'' asked the second one.  
  
''South down the coast towards the city.''  
  
''Probably not too far ahead of us then. Did you get lost?''  
  
''Two nights ago in a storm.''  
  
''Too bad,'' the blue haired said with a compassionately sigh, ''Well I don't envy you going into the city. It's not a good place for bats. We prefer avoiding it and go around it before continuing south. You are free to come with us for a while if you like.''

''Thank's we really appreciate this,'' Shade said and smiled happily.  
  
I looked up and stared at the Greywing colony in the close distance. Mothers and Fathers flying with their children, sometimes whirling off to quickly catch some food then come back together.  
It seemed temptingly, flying with a big group like this and it would probably be much safer than continuing our way alone on our own. But I also felt a bit uneasy traveling with a large crowd where I knew not a single soul.  
  
Suddenly the old Greywing gasped and I turned my head to see him staring directly down at me, his eyes widen in horror.

''Eh, is something wrong?'' I asked feeling slightly confused but also worried.  
  
''Great Nocturna help us!'' he breathed and his expression changed into anger as he glared down at Shade furiously.'' Are you out of your mind boy. Carrying a human creature along with you and your friend?''  
  
''What? Why? She is not that bad, really we ...''  
  
''Abraham, look!'' the blue haired Greywing hissed pointing towards Marina, ''She has a band.''  
  
''A human and a cursed bat?!'' Abraham growled not believing his old eyes, ''That's bad luck, very bad luck. Didn't your mother teach you anything? They'll bring doom on all of us.''  
Shade shook his head and tried to convince them of the contrary but they didn't want to listen.  
''You are welcome to travel with us Silverwing. But they are not!''  
  
Abraham and the other two male Greywings stared coldly at me and Marina, growling softly.  
Shade looked at us both for a second then shook his head and glared back at the three Greywings. ''If they can't come. I'm not coming either,'' he said.  
  
''Suit yourself. But If I were you I'd ditch them before it's too late.'' The Greywings darted back to their colony and on their elders command they swung inland, away from the water, away from us.

Soon after they were gone I heard Marina sighing sadly. ''I'm sorry,'' she said, ''I forgot to cover the band. I thought they were yours.''  
  
''It's alright,'' Shade replied, ''I just don't understand. Why do they think the bands are bad luck? Something must have happened, more than just stories.''

_''Probably.''_ I thought, wondering what the origin of this superstition was.  
  
''Maybe you should have gone with them.'' Marina said briefly.  
  
Shade looked at her in shock. ''Why should I?''  
  
''Nothings stopping you.''  
  
''I'm not leaving. Not you nor Vanessa.''  
  
''You think I need your company? I'm used to living alone. I don't need you or your colony, Shade.'' She stared at him hardly then looked away. ''I'm ... forget it.''  
  
''Maybe there are different kinds of bands,'' Shade said, ''Good ones and bad ones. I don't know.''  
  
''And which have I got? Guess I'll know when I burst into flames.''  
  
''That won't happen, Marina,'' I said and flinched at the venomous look she threw me.  
  
''What do you know?'' she snarled, ''Those stupid bands wouldn't even exist if it weren't for your kind.''  
  
I clenched my teeth together and looked away with a frown, feeling hurt by her words. So she still hadn't changed her mind about this topic so far.  
  
''Girls, please. Let's not argue with each other. We have more important things to think about, remember? Let's just continue our way into the city. There must be a tower we need to find. It's a landmark on my mothers sound map.''  
  
''Alright,'' Marina huffed and nodded at Shade but not without giving me another cold glare, making me wish that stupid pearl had turned me into a bat instead of just shrinking me.


	10. The wrong tower

For the next few hours, none of us spoke much besides Shade telling us more details of what we were looking for until we reached our destination, the city. To my current size, it seemed like a huge place with an endless grid of light, streaming hypnotically in all directions. The air itself was filled with the sound of cars beeping and honking that you might wonder how someone could sleep by all this noise.

We kept flying close to the buildings to be able to quickly hide in small spaces in the walls in case of an emergency. But for now, everything seemed fine.  
Besides, it wasn't like we had to be afraid of anything anyway. The owls got their revenge and according to the law, no bats were to be harmed in the night. So everything was fine.

Yet I would have felt much better if we finally found the Silverwings. Who knows how far ahead they already were or if they even waited for us on the landmark.

Speaking of it, we just passed another corner and there right ahead of us stood a square stone tower. At least hundreds of feet high and decorated with lots of ornaments, carvings and numerous windows. Some bright, some dark.  
Near the top was a massive white clock with roman numerals, whose black hands showed it was close to ten pm.  
The top part itself was a steep spire with a gabled window on the sides which was blocked by beams of wood.

''Is this it?'' Marina asked as she flew closer alongside me and Shade.

''It must be,'' Shade beamed and swung in towards the top where he landed himself and me on one of the beams next to Marina, who let out a sigh in relief.

''Finally,'' she said but Shade, who looked closely around didn't seem much happy about it like he was before.

''Uhm guys,'' he said unsure, ''I'm not sure this is the same tower on the sound map.''

''Sure it is.''

''Well, it doesn't have a cross. The tower in my map had a cross on top of it.'' We all looked up at the top, seeing that he was right. There was no cross just an ordinary point.

''Well, did you see any other tower in your little sightseeing tour?'' Marina asked sounding quite exhausted.

''Eh, no but I ...''

''Ok,'' she said, interrupting him, ''Then what else could it be?''

I was just about to say something when suddenly there was a huge banging sound coming from the inside of the tower that made me and the two bats flinch. The sound was so loud we had to held our ears in pain and waited for it to turn off.

''Agh my ears.'' I hissed waiting to be able to hear again, feeling glad the vibration didn't shake me off the wood, otherwise I would have probably plunged towards my death.

Marina shook her head then looked back at Shade. ''That proofs it, you said you heard a loud bong.'' But Shade still didn't seem confident about it.

''This isn't it,'' he said, causing Marina to groan in annoyance.

''Then where is it? Honestly Shade, I feel like I'm doing everything.''

''You're doing everything?'' Shade frowned ''It was my sound map. That's just...''

''Stinks,'' I burst out, pinching my nose in disgust. Shade looked at me funny and shook his head.

''That's not what I was going to say.''

''No, really, this place smells. Bad.'' Shade and Marina now started sniffing as well and wrinkled their nose by the scent coming from the inside of the tower.

''Ugh, you are right Vanessa. It smells ... foul.''

Suddenly a pair of wings appeared at the opening and snatched the two bats inside. Before I could even realize what was going on, another wing appeared and pulled me into the tower as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, not too far away from the city, the Silverwing colony kept on moving down south above the forest. Thanks to the lighthouse they used to wait out the storm everyone was fine. Well, everyone except Ariel.

Anxiously she kept looking around, hoping to find any signs of life from either her son or Vanessa.

''Any signs of them?'' she asked hopefully looking at Mercury who flew down beside her his own eyes mirroring the worry of her own.

''I'm sorry Ariel, nothing,'' he softly replied, shaking his head, causing her to sigh deeply.

"For your own good you two should forget about those two," Bathsheba spoke up and the two bats turned around to look at the chubby elder flying up to their side. "There's no way that they could've survived that storm.''

''You're wrong, they're still out there," Ariel retorted shaking her head. "I can feel it." She looked up into the starry sky with hope in her eyes.

''A mother's faith. Touching but foolish."

''No, Ariel is right they ...'' Just then Frieda joined their conversation, interrupting Mercury in his words.''

''We must continue on to the cathedral where we can wait for one more night, together,'' she said ignoring Bathsheba frowning at her while Ariel and Mercury gave their leader a generous smile.

''As an elder, you have to think about what's best for the entire colony,'' Bathsheba reminded her.

''We are way ahead of schedule we can afford an extra time in the city,'' Frieda said smiling, earning a thankful smile in return from Ariel.

"Fine," Bathsheba growled. "But if they don't show up by then we move on." And with that, she flew ahead leaving the three bats behind.

Ariel sighed ''Thank you, Frieda,'' she said while Mercury nodded.

''Yes, thank you.''

"I think your faith in Shade and Vanessa is well-placed. But listen," Frieda said, giving them both a warning look, "a word of caution, watch what you say to Bathsheba." Ariel and Mercury both glanced at each other or a second then nodded understanding and continued to fly along with the rest of the Silverwings.

The city wasn't too far now and Mercury still kept looking for both Shade and Vanessa while also keeping an eye on any dangers for the colony. Like Ariel, he too believed that they were both somewhere out there still alive. The piece that ripped off Vanessa's dress was stuck on his thumb claw, giving him hope as well.  
And as long as he had this he felt sure the small human was alright and there was nothing to worry about besides ... that what was flying straight towards them.  
''Dive! Take cover!'' he called out and without hesitation, every bat quickly dove and hide under the rooftop of a nearby building. Seconds later a squadron of owls rushed past them towards the old clock tower, led by General Brutus himself noticing none of them.

''What was that about?'' Mercury asked, catching his breath.

''I can't imagine. I thought the score was settled with the owls when they burned down tree heaven,'' Frieda replied, looking worried.''

''I guess they didn't consider that punishment enough,'' Bathsheba said glaring at Ariel right next to her, who slightly glared back.

''Owls in the city are uncommon and those owls were in battle formation. That's never a good sign.''  
Frieda let the colony stay hidden a couple more seconds before thinking it was safe enough to continue on. She couldn't help but grow a bad feeling about those owls she just saw.

* * *

Inside the tower, everything was dark and awfully smelling, like rotten junk in an unclean garbage can or a toilet not cleaned in weeks.  
The stench was so bad I felt sick in my stomach. Any worse and the blueberries I ate would surely come back up again to say hello.

Shade, Marina and I got thrown on the floor by three birds who kept us down with their feet on our back and wings, so we won't escape.  
Besides the smell, the room was filled with a curing sound that seemed to come from everywhere, especially above us. Glancing upwards I noticed more birds sitting on wooden beams, crisscrossed over our heads like a giant web.

''Pigeons,'' Marina breathed and thanks to a ray of light that shone from an opening in a corner I could see she was right. Around hundreds of thick grey feathered birds glared down at us with small menacing eyes.

''You've seen them before?'' Shade asked looking up at the pigeons as well.

Marina nodded. ''They run the sky in the city. They are everywhere.''

''But ... why weren't they asleep?

She shook her head, ''It's like they were waiting for us.''

''They can't do this,'' he frowned, ''We weren't doing anything. The night is ours.''

''Somehow I don't think they care Shade,'' I said, watching the pigeons glaring at us angrily from above.

''We must have hit a patrol roost or something,'' Marina said, glancing up, ''Lucky us.''

''Captain, here are the renegades that Hegland saw kill our friend.'' spoke one of the pigeons who was holding us down.

The birds on the lowest beam parted respectfully and a large pigeon swooped down to us with his chest thrown out, head held high. A menacing emphasized scar run from his face down to his throat.

''Silence!'' he called out and quickly the crowd grew silent. ''More light!'' A piece of paper was pulled from the opening on the floor and dazzling light, which I assumed to be coming from the giant clock below us, brightened the room a bit more.  
The captain studied us with an ice-cold glare. He pulled Shade's hair causing him to cry out and hit Marina on the head with his wing. Then he walked over to me and I could see the surprise sparkling in his eyes for a second.

''What is this? A tiny human?'' he frowned at me incredulously then called out for one of his soldiers. ''Hegland, come forward,'' he ordered, and another pigeon appeared from the shadows.

Walking slowly with his head hung low in order to avoid the gazes of the other pigeons, came a poor-looking thing who seemed to have witness something horrible not too long ago. On one side of his neck was a nasty scratch, that was still bleeding a bit. He took a short look at Shade, Marina and I then shook his head.

''Eh, these aren't the ones. I ... I told you they were huge and there wasn't a small human with them.''

I raised an eyebrow wondering what he was talking about.

"Are you sure, tsk, what I'm saying you are never sure." The captain said rolling his eyes in annoyance.

''Oh, what if the giant bats come back?'' Hegland said quivering with fear. ''Their wings were...''

''Enough!'' the captain snapped, causing the poor bird to lower his head in shame. Then he looked back at us and I couldn't help but gulped in fear the way he was looking at us. Observing us with his deep orange-red eyes before turning his attention to Marina.

''How about it Brightwing,'' the captain said staring down at her, ''You look like the smart one.''  
Marina just glared back at him, so he nodded towards the pigeon pinning her down and who then squeezed his toes tighter around her arms, causing her to cry out in pain.

''Hey, Featherhead leave her alone!'' Shade growled earning an angry glare of the captain who was then just about to stomp his feet on his head as one of his other soldiers cleared his throat.

''He has arrived sir,'' he said and out of the shadows came a huge bird, much bigger than the pigeons. By the shape of its head and beak, I quickly figured that it was an owl but not any ordinary owl.

''B-B-Brutus.'' Shade stuttered, recognizing him too and my eyes widen in fear.

The owl general averted his big yellow eyes from the pigeon captain, who gave his salute and turn over to us. ''You,'' he said deprecatingly, focusing on Shade and I. ''Wasn't breaking the law enough for you bat? You and your colony have now graduated to murder?''

''Murder? My colony would never murder.'' Shade exclaimed glaring at him but the owl general wasn't impressed at all.

''So,'' he said, ''you admit it was just you and you two friends here.''

''We didn't do anything,'' Marina called out trying to help.

The pigeon captain spoke up. ''My sentry described them as giant bats, unlike these two.''

''Preposterous, the Silverwings are obviously killing innocent pigeons as retribution for our burning of Tree-Heaven.''

''That's insane. No bat can kill a pigeon.'' Shade said.

''No one bat perhaps,'' Brutus agreed, ''But an ambush by the entire colony ... Besides, I've heard tales of cornered bats and the wiles they employ. A bat scorned will stop at nothing.''

''That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.''

''Yeah,'' I agreed with a frown, causing the owl general to look down on me now as well.

''I've also heard stories about humans using their strange magic that can turn any harmless creatures into furious beasts,'' Brutus said, looking at me, eyes squinted.

''What? That's ridiculous.''

"So? Then how come a human being like you is so small and understands the language of animals?

I had no idea what to answer. I didn't understand the whole thing myself .

''A strange blue pearl magically shrank me,'' I finally confessed. ''But I don't know...''

''Ah!'' the general interrupted me. His white feathered face only centimeters away from mine. ''So you admit that there is magic involved.''

I flinched as far back as I could for fear of being impaled by the sharp beak of the owl. Thereupon, the pigeon that held me tightly reinforced its grip and pressed me firmly to the ground.

"Don't even try to play any magic tricks human!'' Brutus warned me: " It won't help you at all.''

"I can't do magic,'' I tried to explain, but he didn't listen. Instead, he turned his attention back to Shade.''

"Where is your colony Silverwing?''

"I don't know, honestly,'' Shade replied, causing Brutus to glare at him more.

Visibly dissatisfied, the general shook his head and stared back at Marina.

''Why exactly is a Brightwing in league with those puny criminals?'' he questioned, frowning down on Shade and me.

''Answer the general!'' commanded the captain of the pigeons, as Marina didn't reply immediately.

''He is not criminals!'' she growled, glaring at the birds.

I couldn't help but felt disappointed that she apparently only defended Shade but Brutus didn't seem to care about it, anyway. He just huffed and shook his head as if he had expected such an answer coming from her. ''Blech bats. Your ancestors couldn't see who to side with and neither can you. And then you're also hanging out with creatures make me sick.''

I glared at him angrily, wishing to give this overgrown chicken a piece of my mind but stayed silent, knowing it would just make things worse.

''Captain,'' Brutus spoke up. ''post sentries all over the city.''

''It's already been done, General.''

''Fine,'' Brutus said and turned back to us, ''you bats are no longer protected in the night. Any bats seen in the sky, night or day, is sentenced to death.''

''No! You can't do this.'' Shade shouted in fury and I too watched the owl who was about to leave, with horror not believing my ears. The nights closed. That meant no one was safe now. Not them, not the Silverwings, not all the other bat colonies who are just flying towards their winter roosts having nothing to do with this all.

''I'll alert the owls in the northern forest,'' Brutus continued. ''Oh and captain ... torture those three prisoners until they reveal the colony's whereabouts.'' He gave a pleasant smirk before flying out of the clock tower and disappeared into the night.

* * *

Back with the Silverwings, the colony had almost reached the cathedral when Frieda noticed something odd at the landmark. Sending out her echo vision she saw three pigeons guardian the place like they were waiting for them

''I don't like this,'' she muttered softly, ''we should skip this landmark and move on to the next one.''

Bathsheba rolled her eyes, hearing this. "Don't be so dramatic Frieda they're just pigeons. So what?"

"First, owls in battle formation now pigeons on guard duty at night. Something is wrong." Frieda replied.

"You are the leader, do carry on but I still disagree." Bathsheba said and took off to inform the others about their leader's decision. With a sigh Frieda glance at Ariel to her left, noticing the worried expression on her face and tried to soothe her.

"Don't worry Ariel, I promise we will stop and wait for Vanessa and Shade later but for now we must fly on." With that Frieda led the colony away from the cathedral. Ariel stood behind for a moment, looking anxiously at the building before following as well.

Unknown to them all, two giant bat-like creatures, the ones the pigeon soldier named Hegland described, were feasting on yet another bird they've just caught as one of them noticed the colony passing by. His companion noticed them too and an evil grin appeared on his face as a malicious idea formed in his mind.

* * *

''Prepare the bats and that human for the amputation,'' ordered the captain and soon a bunch of pigeons started sharpening their beaks on the stone walls between the wood beams.  
Knowing what they were planning to do I gulped and felt my heart sinking into my stomach with my blood froze with fear.

''What does that mean?'' Shade asked, looking scared as well ''Amputation?''

''You don't want to know that, Shade. Believe me,'' I said, trying my best to stay calm.

''Oh and you know that of course,'' scoffed Marina, causing me to glare at her.

''What's your problem? It's not my fault we ended up in this situation.''

''Maybe but that still ... ''

''Girls, can you please continue this conversation one other time,'' hissed Shade, ''we need to get out of here as fast as possible.''

I looked away knowing he was right. This wasn't the time to quarrel, we needed a plan. A plan to escape. Looking around, I couldn't find anything useful except for the piece of paper next to the hole where the light came out. Remembering the captain calling out for light earlier brought me an idea.

''Shh Shade!'' I whispered to him, ''Pigeons can't see in the dark.'' I nodded towards the hole, and he smiled at me, understanding my plan. Seeing his captor now sharpening his own beak, completely ignoring him, Shade didn't waste a second to squirm out of his grasp.

Ignoring the pain of his wing getting sliced by the pigeon's claw he plunged forward and quickly covered the hole with the paper.

Immediately everything went pitch black, and the pigeons fluttered around in blind panic. Shade hurried back to us and bite my capture into his toe which made him let go of me. He then grabbed my hands with his feet and soared back into the sky after Marina freed herself from her own capture.

''Don't let the prisoners escape!'' one pigeon cried out. But the birds were all confused and scared. They tripped over they own feet and bumped into each other's heads. One bird accidentally gave me and Shade a massive hit with its wings that catapulted us out of the tower. I felt dizzy from the triple somersault but luckily Shade was able to catch himself again.

''We made it,'' he cheered.

''Yeah, but what about Marina?'' Shade looked around and noticed that our Brightwing friend wasn't with us.

''Oh no, she must still be inside the tower,'' he said. Right then we heard Marina calling out Shade's name in fear from the inside of the clock tower.

''We need to save her,'' I said.

''Right.'' Shade nodded and flew back inside the clock tower.

Inside it was still chaos with birds screaming and fluttering around, making it nearly impossible to fly around without getting hit by wing again. Not too far fluttered Marina but her way out was blocked by a pigeon. Without hesitation, Shade flew over to help, and I kicked the bird on its head to knock it away. Together with our Marina, we managed to kick another bird down to one of the lower beams as then a third one appeared and captured her under one of his wings but Shade quickly bite it to make it let go, and we soared back up to the exit. Still trying to avoid pigeons who kept blocking our way.

Suddenly Shade hissed in pain and I looked up in concern seeing him folding his right wing to his body. ''Shade what's wrong? Why are you ... WAAAH CAREFUL!'' I called out, but it was too late. Without looking where he was flying Shade crashed against the hard stone wall, hitting his shoulder and my head before plunging down on a wooden beam below.  
I heard Marina gasping in shock and felt dizzy with my head hurting like hell.

''Are you ok?'' she asks, helping Shade back up who just told her to fly before lifting off himself with me dangling under his feet and out of the tower.


	11. The right tower

Six pigeons burst after us through the window. I took a short glance over my shoulder and gasped at how close they were. Not only that, they were also fanning out across the sky, surrounding us.

''Can we outrun them?'' I heard Shade asking with panic.

''Don't think so,'' panted Marina.

We dashed over the city, swinging wildly around towers, skinning rooftops, plunging down into deep canyons. But the pigeons kept hunting us stubbornly.  
I knew if we didn't find a hiding spot soon, they would surely catch us. But where?  
On top of that, Shade was hurt. His wing had a nasty hole in it, and he could barely keep up with Marina because of the pain and with me hanging on to his feet.  
I felt bad for letting him carry me around while he was wounded. He looked so worn out already that he needed a break. And that soon.

Marina noticed Shades condition as well but didn't offer to carry me herself. Instead, she, at least, asked him if we should stop, so he could rest his wing.

Shade shook his head breathing heavily and growled slightly. "Pigeons, I hate them almost as much as I hate those stupid owls,'' he said

''Shade, revenge isn't worth it,'' I said looking up at him, ''We have more important things to do, like finding the Silverwings. We got to warn them. Remember Brutus prohibition.''

''I'm sure he remembers it, Vanessa. We all do. But finding a tower with a cross on its top isn't so easy like it sounds. This place is like a maze,'' Marina said with a hint of irritation in her voice.

Before I could reply I heard the familiar sound of bells ringing and scanned the area until I spot the origin of the sound right ahead of us and my face lit up with joy.

''Guys over there!'' I beamed, ''There it is, the cathedral. That building with the tower with the cross on the top from your sound map Shade.''

Both bats looked into the direction I shortly pointed at it with one hand and their faces lid up with relief. Yes, it had to be the right one.  
The tower looked almost like the one where we encountered the pigeons but on top of the spire was a metal cross, glinting silver in the city's glow.

''That's where they were meant to stop.'' Shade called out happily and flew faster as if just the sight of his colony's landmark gave him new strength into his tired and wounded wings.

Suddenly I heard Marina gasping behind us and turned around, wondering what was going on.

Without warning, she quickly swooped down, grabbing Shades shoulders by her feet and dragged him and me over to the edge of a building close to the cathedral.

''Hey, what's the big deal?'' Shade demanded to know after we landed. But instead of answering Marina just hushed him and motioned us to come closer.

Carefully we three looked around the corner and saw three pigeons sitting on the roof between the gargoyles, guarding the place. I recognized one of them as Hegland, the anxious bird who told us and the other pigeons about the two giant bats that had killed and eaten his friend before his eyes.  
He still seemed to be a nervous wreck and shivered heavily while scanning the area with fearful eyes as if he feared the giant bats would come back anytime soon. Poor guy.

Even though I felt bad for him, Shade, Marina and I still needed an idea to get rid of those three,  
Otherwise, we couldn't land there. And what about the Silverwings?

Looking down at the building, I noticed a lamp which glows shone right under the pigeons on the roof. This gave me an idea.

''Hey you two, see the lamp down there? You know the shiny thing right under the pigeons?''

''What's with it?'' Shade asked.

''I believe I've got a plan in which this might help us to get those pigeons to leave,'' I said.

Marina didn't look very convinced about it. ''Ah, and what exactly do you have in mind?'' she asked skeptically.

''Remember, what that one pigeon called Hegland said? About those giant bats?'' I paused seeing them both nod, ''Well, there none of those around to help us right now, but how about we let those birds up there think there are giant bats?'' I couldn't help but grinned seeing their faces lit up as they finally understood what I was trying to tell them.  
Not wasting any more time the two bats flew over to the lamp and landed on an eave next to it.

Meanwhile, on the roof above Hegland seemed to be more paranoid than ever. He apprehensively looked around and shivered like crazy. One of the other pigeons rolled its eyes by his behavior and told him to stop with this nonsense.

''There were like this stone monsters come to live,'' Hegland said, looking with fear at the gargoyle next to them and screamed as his companion tapped his shoulder before laughing at his reaction. The third pigeons landed down beside them and laughed as well, causing Hegland to frown not liking how they made fun of him like that.

''Laugh all you want. I know it's not safe out here.'' He started shivering again and the two other birds stopped laughing and shook their heads in annoyance. Then they noticed something behind them and turned around to see two large bats hovering intimidatingly above them.  
With a terrified scream, the pigeons stumbled over each other in blind panic and fled as fast as they could. Hegland right at the front, thinking the giant bats came back to get him.

Shade and Marina fluttered over the lamp and tried their best to calm down their laughing. Then Shade flew back to where he left me and carried me up to the roof of the cathedral where the pigeons were before with Marina landing beside us.

''They fell for it,'' Shade said still laughing a little.

''I thought someone was gonna break a wing trying to get away first,'' Marina said holding her stomach, chuckling as well.  
Joining in we three laughed for a few minutes until Shade stopped and hissed in pain. His wing was still hurt and in need of medical attention.  
With a soft sigh, I looked around but couldn't find any traces of other bats around.

''The colony isn't here?'' Shade said with disappointed, not noticing anyone too.

''You think we missed them already?''

''I don't know.'' Letting out a sigh Shade turned his head away and looked up at the giant stone gargoyle right next to us. ''Check out Mr. Ugly over there. Tell me he doesn't look like a giant bat,'' he said, his expression changing back into a smile while pointing at the demonic looking statue with its mouth wide open and long stony tongue rolling out of it.

''Come on Shade. You don't really believe in giant bats, do you? That's just a story made up by scared birds.'' Marina said chuckling a little.

''Actually, it isn't as unlikely as you may think,'' I replied, ''Thought coming across something like these around here does sound overstated I have to admit.

The young Brightwing looked at me skeptically then jumped into the sky with her wings spread open, teeth baring. ''Beware! I'm a giant bat. You better dash before I dine,'' she said, pretending to look huge and dangerous. Then she stopped her acted and landed back before me and Shade, looking very much sure of herself. ''Really guys giant bats don't exist!''

''Really?''

All of us gasped when suddenly an unexpected voice appearing out of nowhere.

''You'd be surprised.'' the voice continued. It was a deep echoing sound which seemed to come right out of the gargoyle's mouth. But that couldn't be, right? It was just a statue. It couldn't talk.

''The world is full of strange and wondrous things. Just because you never see them, doesn't mean they don't exist.''

''Like giant bats?'' Shade asked unsurely.

The strange voice surely came from the inside of the gargoyle mouth but I still refused to believe it spoke to us. The voice must come from something inside the statute.

''Come inside!'' said the voice instead of answering Shade's question and again I was sure it sounded more like the voice of a bat.

Curiously I took a little step closer to the statue and into its mouth. The gargoyles' throat extended far back into the spire like a sort of tunnel. I hummed and looked back at the two bats behind me.

''You don't expect us to go in there, right?'' Marina asked afraid and took a step back.

''It's the right tower. The cross and everything. And I believe there is a bat inside,'' I said

''You sure?'' Shade asked.

''Don't be afraid,'' came the voice from deep inside the spire.

''Well, that's good enough for me,'' said Marina sarcastically.

''Look,'' I said,''it's got to be safe otherwise, Shade's colony wouldn't use it as a landmark right?''  
I looked over to the Silverwing who nodded in agreement.

''Yeah, I suppose you are right with that.'' Marina sighed as if knowing there was no point in arguing against it. ''After you.''

Shade jumped into the air and grabbed my hands with his feet before flying into the gargoyle's mouth with Marina close behind us. A few seconds later we landed in a big room inside the spire with all kinds of plants hanging on wooden beams all over the place. A few feet ahead of us roosted a bat upside down on one of the beams and scribbled something with its claws on a wooden wall while muttering to itself.

''Ah, Greywings leaving right on time.''

''Who are you?'' Shade asked. The bat dropped itself from the beam and landed on the one below before turning to us with a friendly smile on its face. It was an elderly male with long white fur and wings. His eyes were dull with no colors or pupils inside. Showing that he was blind.

"My name is Zephyr," the white bat introduce himself. "I'm um…" He put his claw on his chin as if he forgot the right words and then snapped his fingers finding the answer while walking over to us. "… The bat traffic controller for the migrating colonies. This city is a central harbor through which all colonies pass. Those are the flight paths, my dear ... uh,'' Zephyr said turning to Marina who swooped down to the wall with all different signs and symbols written on it, looking at them curiously.

''Marina, my name is Marina. And those are Shade and Vanessa,'' she said introducing herself and us to the old bat.

''You know where all the colonies are?'' Shade felt amazed and flew down to Zephyr as well and set me down on a beam. Carefully I kept myself close to the walls, refusing to look down into the endless depth underneath us. Compared to this the pigeon tower was much safer. At least there was a floor to walk on while here were only wooden beams. Luckily those were big enough, so I shouldn't be able to slip off right away. Still, I hated myself for being so anxious about highs.

''So, where are the Silverwings,'' Shade asked more, looking at the scribblings.

''Eh, they passed by here about two hours ago heading south,'' Zephyr answered rubbing his chin.

''We can catch up with them in no time. Let's go.'' Shade beamed and was about to leave right on spot.

''Well, off you go then. Unless you think that ripped wing of yours will slow you down,'' Zephyr said calmly and pointed at Shades torn wing. I frowned wondering how he was able to see this if he was blind. Then again. He was a bat and I know bats can see quite well with their ears instead just with their eyes.

Shade, who until now didn't think about his injury, looked down on his wing and gulped. Dark blood was oozing out of it slowly. Without warning, his eyes rolled back into his head, and then he collapsed right on the beam.

_''Seriously?''_

* * *

In the meantime, the Silverwing colony made their way further away from the city through a small forest. They were all worn out from the long flight. Some of the youngest pups were even so tired by now that their mothers decided to carry them.

Exhausted like the rest Frieda flapped her old wings laboriously up and down and peered between the trees, hoping Mercury would soon return from his scouting with good news.

Like on cue, the male emerged out of the forest with a smile on his face.

''All clear,'' he exclaimed happily and pointed down towards an empty human building in the middle of a small clearing.

Frieda sighed with relief. ''Finally, a place to roost,'' she said and led the colony down to the building and chose the wooden beams under a water tower as their roosting place.  
Soon all Silverwings landed upside down on the beams, happy to finally be able to rest their wings for a while.

''Frieda, I'm sure Shade and Vanessa will catch up with us soon,'' said Ariel with confidence to Frieda who deci ded to roost beside her.

''Ariel, we can stay here for a few days.''

''Frieda,'' the sharp, raspy voice of Bathsheba intervened, making them both look up to see the pudgy elder landing on the wooden beam below, ''This is no time for the colony to be lazing about.''

Frieda frowned at her before looking at the rest of the colony seeing most of them preparing themselves to sleep a bit while a few others decided to go and catch some food.

''The weak should be left behind,'' Bathsheba demanded but her leader thought otherwise.

''The colony arrived together and it will leave together.'' Frieda retorted glancing back at her.  
Bathsheba grunted disapprovingly and flew away to hunt.

* * *

I watched how Zephyr squished some red berries over Shades wound to rub the mush over it with his foot while the Silverwing finally gained back consciousness. Sitting back up he looked over to me sitting right next to him cross-legged.''

''Welcome back,'' I said smiling at him, happy to see him okay and awake again.

He smiled back but then raised his eyebrows in confusion while staring me in the face.

''Uh, Vanessa, what's that on your forehead?''

''Hmm? Oh, that. That's just a healing paste from Zephyr for the bruise I got thank to you crashing us onto the stone wall in the pigeon tower earlier.''

''Oh, sorry.''

''It's fine, nothing's broken'' I said and looked up just to see Marina talking to Zephyr.

''When are you going to migrate,'' she asked curiously while crouching on one of the wooden beams above.

''Never,'' Zephyr answered, ''My full name is Zephyrnaia, which means protection. I believe it is my destiny to protect other bats as they migrate.''

''Don't you miss your colony?''

''I was abandoned as a baby. Perhaps you know what this is like,'' Zephyr said turning his head up to Marina, who looked at her band with a sad sigh.

I sighed as well and felt a little guilty since my kind was the reason why she got banished from her family and friends but something confused me.

''Eh, excuse me Zephyr,'' I said, ''But how did you survive all on your own when you were left behind as a baby?''

''I was lucky to be found by a kind human who lived in the cathedral. He took me in and cared for me until I was old enough to look after myself,'' Zephyr answered turning back to me, ''But since I didn't know where to go and if there even was a colony who would take me in, I decided to stay here and help other bats like that human has helped me.''

''A human cared for you, you say?'' Marina asked looking at him with disbelieve, ''But aren't they dangerous? I mean most of them? Why else are so many bats afraid of the bands?'' she said throwing a short glance at me before telling Zephyr everything about her colony and our encounter with the Greywings.

''It is right to be careful about the humans,'' Zephyr replied, ''their customs are mysterious, and they are known to attack bats, thinking we are pests or worse evil spirits something to be destroyed and I know for fact, that there were bands who killed their wearer. But whenever it was the band itself or the nature of the bat who wore it no one can say.''

''My father had a band.'' Shade intervened now sitting up straight. Then he looked down on his wing, sniffing at the mush smeared over his wound and made a grimace.

''Urgh, yuck! Keep that stuff off of me my wing is fine,'' he insists and got up while shaking the mush from his wing.

''That stuff is a healing poultice. And your wing doesn't hurt because it's working.'' Marina said, annoyed about Shade's stubbornness and flew down to us.

The Silverwing looked at his wing and tried to lift it a little but it still hurt a lot. Groaning in pain Shade fainted again. Me, Zephyr and Marina only shook our heads watching this.Then Zephyr took some new berries and smeared another poultice on Shade's injured wing.  
Marina, however, found a strange rolled up red leave with thick veins. She curiously picked it up sniffing it a little then pulled it close to her mouth as if wanting to taste it.

''Careful!'' Zephyr warned her, ''That's strong medicine. That herb kills pain. So don't lick your wing or you'll be knocked out for a week,'' he adds towards Shade who just woke up again.

Shade sighed, relieved to feel the pain in his wing getting better and nodded at him while getting up once again. ''Let's go guys we gotta find the colony,'' he said and grabbed my hands with his feet to carry me up towards the entrance where he landed again waiting for Marina to come up.

''Oh, by the way'' Zephyr said cheerfully, ''If that poultice falls off and your wing rips in half just come on back. I'll be happy to give you some more.''

''My wing ... in half?'' With his eyes widen in shock he grasps his wing and collapsed once again before Marina could catch him.

Unfortunately, he fell right against me this time, causing me to fall down on my bottom with an unconscious Silverwing lying on top of me. With a sigh, I shook my head, slowly getting tired of this.

* * *

In the forest near the human building, which was actually a sawmill closed for the night, the Silverwings were still resting and hunting.  
Frieda stood on top of the water tower and glanced at the horizon while letting the cold breeze flew through her long hair.

Just then a red cardinal male swooped down and landed in front of her with an angry frown on his face.

''Hey, this is my mosquito hunting territory,'' he snapped at her rudely.

''We Silverwings are just here to rest and eat before we move on,'' Frieda explained.

The cardinal's expression mysteriously changed after hearing this. ''Oh, you are Silverwings. Oh, then please stay as long as you want,'' he said exaggerated friendly and flew off again.

Chinook, who had listened to their conversation landed beside Frieda and together they looked after the bird with a concerned look on their faces. Something wasn't right.


	12. A lesson for life

With Marina's help, I managed to roll the unconscious Silverwing off my lap and got back up, rubbing my temples in annoyance. Shade could be such a drama queen sometimes.  
However, his wing was injured and needed to be healed before we could continue our flight back to his colony. Otherwise, Shade might really lose his wing and even though Zephyr just said it like a joke, it wasn't really something to laugh about.  
I gulped thinking about how the pigeons wanted to amputate our limbs just to make us talk back at the clock tower.  
  
_''Argh, stop thinking about that!'' _I admonished myself and shook my head, to get those thoughts out. Afterward, I leaned back against the wall, the white hood pulled over my face and let out a deep sigh. Even though we were temporarily safe here for the pigeons and owls I couldn't help but hoped for Shade to recover fast, feeling worried for his colony. What if Brutus threat had already reached them? What if he got them all captured or killed?  
We really needed to get back on our road, but not until Shade's wing was fully healed.  
  
Hearing a slight cough I looked up to see Zephyr smiling down at me with a few red berries in his hands.  
''Here my child.'' he said friendly, offering me the berries,'' eat this. You probably haven't eaten for a while and you will need your strength for the long journey that lies ahead for you three.  
  
''Uh, thanks,'' I said and took the berries, just then realizing how hungry I was, since my last meal had been last evening at the beach before our flight into the city.  
While I was eating the berries Zephyr also brought me a leaf with water to drink before fluttering off to his herbs.  
  
Boy, must I have been thirsty. In only one — two sips I emptied the whole leaf and felt so much better afterward.  
Now, the only thing I longed for was a snatch of sleep. We had been through so much tonight no wonder I was feeling tired by now.  
Looking around, I spotted Shade snoring softly on a bed of soft leaves with his injured wing stretched out to the side while Marina hung close to Zephyr, talking to him a bit. Soon I saw her trying to hide a soft yawn with her wing, telling me that she was getting tired as well.  
  
Without a doubt, sleep was something we all needed, so I got up to find myself a good spot to rest. Preferably as far away from the deep opening in the middle as possible.  
I was scared to accidentally fall down the beam during my sleep. But then I heard our host calling my name and walked over, wondering what he might wanr.  
  
''Here my dear. Since you cannot sleep like we bats do, I hope this uh... nest here is comfortable enough for you to sleep in instead,'' he said, showing me a cozy-looking pile of soft green leaves.  
  
''Oh, it is. Thank you, Zephyr,'' I replied with a smile and was about to climb into the leaves but stopped feeling slightly confused for a moment. ''Uh, how come you know I'm not a bat? I mean you ...''  
  
''... are blind?'' he finished my sentence, chuckling a little. ''My child it its true my eyes are no use for me anymore but I still have my ears and echolocation to orient myself plus I can smell a strong scent of human coming from you.''  
  
''Oh.''  
  
''Also, can I sense your fear of highs and I never heard about a bat feeling anxious about something like that.''  
  
I chuckled softly, ''Eh, yeah.''  
  
''But don't worry the beams a wide enough for you not accidentally fall down.''  
  
''That's good.''  
  
''Well then, I'll leave you to rest now. Good day.''  
  
''Good day,'' I replied and finally climbed into my makeshift bed, taking off only my boots and cloak to use it as a blanket for some extra warmth and let out a soft yawn before closing my eyes to sleep.

* * *

Back at the sawmill most of the Silverwings were dosing under the water tower with only a few still flying around, catching some bugs in order feed themselves or their young.  
Chinook, however, wasn't hunting. Something else kept him awake. Something he had to think about since the burning of Tree-Heaven. The feeling of guilt that had grown bigger once set into his mind since this dreadful night.  
He knew he should talk to someone about it but Todd was still holding a grudge against him and his mother probably wouldn't understand him as well. In her eyes, he was her perfect little boy who couldn't do anything wrong. Touching but unhelpful.  
Then he spotted Ariel talking with Mercury and figured that from all bats it was they he needed to talk at most. With a deep sigh, he jumped from his roost and flew over to them.  
  
''Ariel! Mercury!''

Both Silverwings looked over their shoulders, stopping their conversation to fly over to his side.  
''Is it Shade? Or Vanessa? Are they here?'' Ariel asked, hope glittering in her eyes but Chinook shook his head and looked away sadly, causing Mercury to sigh deeply. ''What is it Chinook?'' he asked.  
  
''Tree-Heaven burning down ... i-it was as much my fault as it was Shade and Vanessa's,'' he confessed. Shocked by this both adults gasped then flew up towards a streetlight and waited for Chinook to roost next to them, so they could talk more privately.  
''I was showing up in front of Todd and Breeze,'' he began his voice shaking a little, ''I shouldn't have listened to Shade when he dared me to see the sun but I couldn't let the runt-'' he paused noticing Ariel frowning at him and quickly corrected himself, ''I'm mean I couldn't let him show me up.''  
  
''Oh, boy,'' Mercury muttered, rubbing the space between his eyes. Newborns and their foolishness. Ariel just shook her head and turned away with a sigh, not believing what childish act caused them all so much trouble.  
But then she looked back and saw the young boy turning his own head away with a tear rolling over his cheek. Seeing this Ariel's expression changed into a soft smile. Quietly she moved closer to him and wrapped one wing around him in comfort to show him she wasn't mad.  
  
''I bet they are still alive,'' Chinook said changing the topic a little by talking about Shade and Vanessa.  
  
''I hope you are right,'' Ariel said still smiling at him. ''We both do,'' said Mercury, slightly smiling at him too. Chinook smiled back at them, rubbing the tears out of his eyes.

* * *

Early the next evening I woke up again, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I felt like I'd just closed them just for a few minutes, but looking at the fading light shining through a few holes in the walls I knew it had to be at least sundown by now.  
Looking around, I noticed that the others were already awake as well and got up from my nest to stretch myself a bit. A few feet away I saw Shade roosting on one beam, testing out his wing.  
I smiled a little, happy to know he would be okay despite his injury.  
Zephyr was writing something on the wooden wall while roosting on a beam above it and Marina was sorting some herbals and berries and piled them up into small heaps.  
  
Feeling like it was better to do something than just awkwardly standing around I walked up to her asking if I could help.  
''Sure, whatever,'' she mutter without really paying attention to me. I sighed but began to sort the herbs as well while sitting beside her.  
  
As Zephyr was scribbling on his wall, mumbling something to himself I picked up a large, rolled in red leaf and turned around to see Marina looking curiously at some red berries on the ground.  
''Eh, Marina I don't think you should it that,'' I said warningly and threw my leaf next to the others.  
The Brightwing looked at me skeptically. ''And what makes you think so?''  
  
''Well, ... you can't just eat any berry you see lying around,'' I said, not knowing how to explain myself better.  
Marina just shrugged and decided to eat the berry despite my warning but stopped as Zephyr cleared his throat to get her attention.  
  
''You really shouldn't eat that,'' he said, ''But you might wanna squeeze some of its juice under your band.'' Marina hesitated, seeming unsure what to think of this. ''Go ahead,'' Zephyr coaxed her gently, ''I can hear your skin chafing against the metal.''  
Doing like she was told the young Brightwing squeezed the berry a little and rubbed its juice under her band, sighing happily. ''Ah, that feels good,'' she said with relief.  
  
Zephyr smiled friendly and waddled across the room, stumbling right into some leaves hanging from the beams. However, he just shook it off and went on as if nothing happened and picked up a leaf.  
  
''The old guy is as blind as a mole,'' Shade whispered as he landed beside me and Marina.

''Shade!'' I hissed, thinking that was a little rude of him but the albino didn't seem to be bothered by this at all.

''Technically I'm blinder,'' he said, grinning a little.  
  
''Who in his right mind would put a guy who can't see in charge of air traffic control?'' Shade asked irritated and sat down with his wings crossed before his chest.  
  
''Sometimes hearing might be the better way of seeing,'' I said frowning at him a little.  
  
''Incredible insight for one so young.'' Zephyr praised but Shade just huffed and rolled his eyes. ''I heard that,'' Zephyr said.  
  
''Huh?!'' Shade shortly blinked in surprised then huffed in annoyance and stood up.  
''I'm going to test my wing. Maybe catch a bug or two,'' he said and flew out without looking back.

I sighed watching him go and looked back at Zephyr who could only shake his head at Shades rash behavior.

Marina looked a bit disappointed after our friend as well, then walked over to the albino bat.  
''Zephyr,'' she asked, ''do you know why the humans banded me? Is it a curse?'' I felt hurt knowing that she still thought bad about something so harmless like the bands. Sure I could understand her suspicion, she just lost her family and friends just for having one, but the pure idea of those pieces of metal being a bad omen and such was just ... ridiculous.

''My child,'' Zephyr replied, ''the actions of the humans are inconsistent and ... eh, difficult to inter-operate.'' The young female sighed, obviously not satisfied with that answer, so he flew down from his roost and landed beside her, wrapping one wing comfortingly around her shoulder. ''Marina, you are special. But that has nothing to do with any bands.''

_''True,''_ I thought and wondered if Marina would realize this someday.  
However, while hoping Shade to be alright out there, I continued to help Zephyr sort his berries and herbs. Withal I had to think about Frieda's words back at the Echo-Chamber a few nights ago and about the circumstance how I ended up in this situation. To be honest it still felt kinda like a dream to me but I couldn't tell if I would be happy to wake up from it or not.

''Is there something wrong my child?'' I hadn't noticed Zephyr walking up to me and was a bit startled.  
  
''Eh. No, everything is fine. I was just ... thinking about something that's all,'' I replied.  
  
The white bat stood there in silence and I got the feeling he expected me to say more. But I was unsure what to tell him and also felt awkward about the growing silence between us.  
However, his friendly smile and maybe the fact that he was an animal, and no human persuaded me to tell him everything about what Frieda had told me and Shade in the Echo-Chamber, about the war and the great promise and my thoughts and doubts of being a human shrunk to the size of a mouse and thrown into this mess without preparation.  
  
''Frieda said that there is supposed to be some kind of glow inside us that shouldn't be darkened but I don't understand what she meant, I mean It was just a coincidence that I found this pearl and ended up with the Silverwings.''  
  
''Well, my child. I know Frieda for a quite a while now and I have a high trust in her words and decisions. Plus, I have to say, you do have something on you that makes you different from other humans. But it is on you to figure it out what it is yourself.  
  
''Oh, OK,'' I said, feeling confused.  
  
Zephyr smiled, ''Don't worry, I'm sure you will know your purpose in time.''  
  
''Are you sure?'' I asked, still feeling skeptical about it and chuckled a bit doubtfully. ''I mean it was, like I said, sheer coincidence that I found this pearl in the first place.''  
  
''Maybe but Nocturna's intentions are mostly something no one clearly understands. Not even I.''  
  
''Hm, I don't know. It does sound reasonable Zephyr but seriously I doubt I play any special role in this ... story or the future of it or what so ever.''

''That's what you may think. But believe me, my dear. Everything that happens happens for a reason as insubstantial as it may seem at first,'' he said.

I sighed still feeling unsure, then saw Marina walking over to us.  
  
''No offense, but I somewhat also doubt that she has any important role to play. I mean, sorry to say this, Vanessa is a human and humans can never be trusted completely.''

I glared at her angrily, having more than enough of her hateful attitude towards me. I didn't care if she was mad at every other human in this world as long as she would finally stop attributing me for everything my kind does, did or even will do in the future.  
  
''I know you want to help all of us but maybe ...'' The white bat gently placed a hand on her shoulder, interrupting her speech.  
  
''My dear child, I can hear by your words that you mean well even though the words you pick are not the best.''  
  
''Well, I ...''

''It's true that it's been years since the last time I encountered a human being but that does not matter. I can still assure you that your anger at them will not get you further in life.'' With that, he turned around to walk back to his herbs but Marina wasn't ready to let this topic go.

With a soft growl in frustration, she crossed her wings before her chest and shook her head.

''Seriously Zephyr, I would never have thought that you would be so foolish.''

The albino bat chuckled in amusement. ''Maybe I am foolish to think I could see through their behaviours. Some of them are indeed horrible, while others are good.. Yet, I cannot prove anything. But they're only living beings like us. So you shouldn't put your blame on everyone of them.''

With a smile, he came back and pulled Marina a little around, so she and I looked at each other eye to eye. I could even see a reflection of myself, looking confused like her in the light of her pupils.

''Take a look at each other my dears and tell me: Are there any differences besides your appearance? Or do you see that you both can think and feel? No matter if animal or human.''

Marina and I just kept starring at each other. Unsure what to tell him. But I knew she was probably thinking about Zephyr's words just like me. And I thought he was right. Both of us could think and feel like the other. Neither of us was a heartless monster which meant other animals and humans were no monsters at all. At least not all of them. There truly were some exceptions, maybe even too many. But that didn't mean that everyone should be hated for what a few did wrong.

Marina still looked thoughtful for a moment and then turned to Zephyr as if wanting to ask him something. But the blind bat shook his head before she could even speak a word.

''Don't ask for my opinion if you are not happy with,'' he said, ''It is like I said. They are only human after all. Don't put your blame on them.'' He then flew up to the entrance.

After exchanging a short look with Marina, we followed him up there and quietly landed beside him on the gargoyles stoned tongue, where he faced us again, more precisely Marina.''

''They're only human. They make mistakes. They're only human that's all it takes ... to put the blame on them. Don't put the blame on them.''

Smiling encouragingly he walked back up to us and put a hand on each of our shoulders.

''You're only human, you do what you can,'' he told me then faced Marina. ''Don't put the blame on her.''

Then he went silent and for a moment we all just stood there not knowing what to think or say. Eventually we were about to head back in when we suddenly heard something.

''What was that?'' I asked, looking around in alarmed. Then Marina let out a shocked gasped.

''Guys its Shade. He is in trouble.''

I looked up and saw she was right, Three pigeons were chasing our blue friend through the city.  
  
''We got to help him,'' I said.   
  
''Don't worry, let me handle this,'' Zephyr said calmly and hopped towards to the top of the gargoyle's mouth. Blinking in confusion, Marina and I followed him a little and from this point, I could see how Shade was trying his best to escape his hunters but with all the bright light from the city lamps, it was sheer impossible for him to find a place to hide.  
And not just that, his injured wing was also slowing him down. I wanted to help him, but since I could not fly there nothing I could do.

Shade landed on a side of a building, too tired to fly any further and the pigeons got dangerously closer almost catching him. Suddenly they stopped right in mid-flight, looking confused.  
What are they doing? I wondered feeling puzzled myself and got even more confused when I saw them flying away from Shade chasing after something else. But there was nothing.  
Or was it?  
  
''Who was that?'' Marina asked.  
  
''Who was who?'' I asked her, turning around but instead of answering she just followed Zephyr back inside who, to top my confusion, chuckled as if he just scored a coup.  
I stood there still not getting what just happened and waited for Shade to return.  
  
''Vanessa, did you just saw that bat? He suddenly came out of nowhere,'' he said as if he couldn't believe what he just saw.  
  
''Well, I...'' I had no idea what he was talking about but before I could say anything more, Shade grabbed my hands and brought me back inside to the others.  
  
''Whoa that was weird,'' Shade said after he landed us by the others. ''One minute he was there, the next he wasn't. You know how he did it. Don't you?'' he asked Zephyr. The white bat turned to him with a smile but did not answer his question.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the city, a few blocks away from the cathedral, a young grey rat crawled out of a drain pipe and sniffed around the area in search of food.  
Spotting a large container full of human trash, the rat scurried closer wondering if it might contain anything edible. Lost in its thought the rodent was not aware of the dark shadow walking closer to him from behind and when it finally realized the danger, it was too late.  
With one last, desperate screech for help, a pair of razor-sharp teeth thrusted deep into the rat's throat, killing it on the spot.

As soon as the bat felt his prey go limp in its jaws, it carried it away to eat, leaving no evidence except for some scratch marks on the container. 

* * *

Marina and I continued to help Zephyr sorting his herbs while Shade hung upside down on one beam. Still brooding about what happened earlier. Suddenly a curring sound distracted him from his thoughts, and he looked around trying to find the source of it.  
Hearing it too I looked around to see Shade flying up the tower.  
  
After changing a short questionable look with Marina, I let her grasp my hands with her feet, and we followed our friend up to another beam. Before anyone of us could ask what he was doing Shade hushed us to be quiet and pointed upwards. Looking up, I first noticed nothing special until I heard something moving on the beams above us.

I looked more closely and still couldn't see a thing. But Marina beside me gasped softly definitely seeing something I did not.

''What's wrong?'' I asked quietly.

''It's a pigeon,'' she replied still looking up, ''A female with a broken wing''

_''What?''_ Confused I looked back and saw no pigeon at all. What was Marina talking about?

Then Shade started growling, seemingly seeing something as well. And before I could ask him what was going on, he flew where the bird was apparently supposed to be.

''You are one of those birds who tried to kill me out there,'' he snarled and landed upside down on the wood, glaring at nothing.  
  
''No, you are mistaken,'' a fearful sounding voice replied. But how could that be? There was no one up there beside Shade. Or was it?

''Look,'' the voice continued, ''can't you see? I'm hurt.''  
  
Shade didn't listen to and instead kept growling. ''Owls probably killed my dad,'' he said. ''They burned down my home and then you guys tried to kill me and my friends.'' With each word, he crawled closer and closer to what I, for some weird reason, could hear but not see. ''I hate all birds.''  
  
''Shade, what are you doing?'' I asked, trying to make him back off. If there really was somebody who was also hurt then Shade shouldn't be harassing it. Otherwise an accident might happen. And a wounded bird was now really no threat.

Unfortunately, he ignored me and crawled closer to the invisible bird.

To make matters worse, I heard a piece of wood cracking and assumed that whatever was up there should move away from the spot as soon as possible as the beams under her weight would soon break through.  
  
''Can't you see? I'm not a threat,'' she asked pleadingly while the wood underneath her feet cracked more. ''Please, I just came here to hide.''  
  
''Hide?'' Shade asked, totally not believing her, ''From what?''  
  
''G-giant bats. They attacked my family.''  
  
''Well, they probably had a good reason. I know I would.''  
  
''Shade, she's hurt. Back off!'' Marina said, trying to reason with him but again the Silverwing refused to listen.  
  
''Shade!'' I called finally getting angry at his behavior. How could he be so blind with his thoughts of revenge? Did he not see what he was doing? The beam under the bird cracked even more. It was just a matter of seconds before it would break through completely.  
''You are making things worse. Leave her alone already!''  
  
''Please, don't you see what you are doing?'' the pigeon asked, sounding like she was about to cry but Shade just kept growling at the poor creature and even crawled closer to her too.  
Just then I heard the wood underneath the invisible bird snap.

I gasped, imagining what was happening and saw Shade, who finally realized what he had done, dash after what seemed to plunge into the depth.

Letting out one last anxious curr that re-echoed inside the spire the invisible pigeon plunged deeper and deeper until I couldn't hear her anymore.  
Still, in shock, I didn't notice how Marina carried me back down to the beams where Zephyr was, who scribbled something on the wood in front of him with his claws.  
  
''Did you see ... uh, hear that?'' Marina asked.  
  
''I heard a young bat blinded by his anger,'' he replied not turning around, ''Then I saw something changing him.''

I had no idea what to say or think. Had there really been a pigeon? I hoped not. Hopefully, it had been just a trick or something. After all, I hadn't see anything. But Marina did. And so did Shade, who landed between us. Horror written on his face.   
  
''T — That wasn't supposed to happen,'' his said his voice shaking a little. ''I...I just ... I...''

He looked down to where the bird fell down and shook his head as if he couldn't believe that he probably just killed someone. Wanting to comfort him, Marina walked closer to Shade and wrapped a wing around his shoulder.

''You should never underestimate the power of a kind act even towards one's enemy. Real or imagined.'' Zephyr said with a smile and closed his eyes to take a deep breath before letting out a sonic wave. Seconds later Marina and Shade gasped in fright and stumbled away from something behind us before I even knew what was going on.  
  
''Guys what gives?'' I asked totally confused.  
  
''Vanessa don't you see? There is a ...'' Marina didn't finish her sentence because whatever she and Shade just saw dissolved before I could get a better look at it.  
At first, both bats just stood there looking confused at what just happened but then Shade looked at me and finally got what was going on.  
  
''That pigeon,'' he exclaimed, ''and the bat... those were echo projections?!''  
  
I blinked in surprise and turned to Zephyr who just smiled and hopped away, chuckling softly.  
  
''Will you teach me?'' Shade asked him with awe.  
  
Zephyr thought about his request while scratching his chin and walked towards a pile of leaves. ''What I have to show you, you must be ready to see. Only one in a million bats can echo project,'' he says, picking up a leaf from the ground. ''We'll see. First, there are a few skills you need to master.''  
  
''Like what?'' Shade asked impatiently and flew closer to the white bat.  
  
''Oh like err ... sound mapping, star navigating and uh ... herbal remedies,'' Zephyr said.  
  
''Herbal remedies? Ts, what do I do when I get cornered by an owl? Throw leaves at him?'' Shade laughed. Zephyr turned around and threw a sonic wave at Shade as Marina landed next to him.  
  
''You obviously cannot use your size to overpower your enemy,'' he said.  
  
''He is sensitive about his size,'' Marina whispered into the old bat's ear.  
  
''The more you know the better chance you'll have against much stronger opponents,'' Zephyr continued to say and walked up to the Silverwing. With ease, he pushed him to the ground just by sweeping his foot away. ''Do you understand?''  
  
''Oh, I see ... I'm ready,'' Shade smiled and held his hand up for Zephyr who, with a smile on his own face took his hand and pulled him back up on his feet.


	13. Much to learn

In the forest close to the Silverwings resting place, stood General Brutus, on top of a broken tree stump, impatiently tapping his claw on the wood. Flanked by two of his owl soldiers, he listened with annoyance to the requirements of a small red cardinal in front of him.  
  
It was the exact same red cardinal, who earlier allowed Frieda and her colony to rest and hunt in his hunting area.  
  
''Ok, I'll tell you where the Silverwings are,'' he haughtily said, ''if you give me exclusive mosquito hunting rights for the whole valley.''  
  
Brutus stared at the smaller bird, silently raising an eyebrow at his demand before bending down to him with a glare, causing him to immediately feel less confident in himself.  
  
''Ok, half the valley would also work, yeah,'' he said, ducking away from the Generals intimidating glare.  
  
''You'll lead a squadron of my owls to the water tower,'' Brutus commanded, definitely not being in the mood of discussions, ''We'll talk about hunting rights after the entire Silverwing colony is annihilated!''  
The cardinal gulped at the General's strict words but didn't dare to object. Instead, he just nodded nervously and waited for a sign for him to lead the owls to the clueless bats.

* * *

During the next few nights, Zephyr taught us a lot about the stars, orientation by the signs of nature and all kinds of herbal remedies we might need on our journey.  
At the end, he tested us a little to see what we had memorized so far.  
To my joy, I recalled quite a few important things but Marina could recap much more. However, Zephyr was proud of both of our achievements. Even with Shade's who didn't answer much of his questions. He was still a little sulky that they had to learn all this boring stuff not understanding what this all had to do with learning to perform echo projections.   
  
As we stood and roosted there in the gargoyle's mouth, Zephyr picked up a leaf and showed it to us. ''Stinging needle,'' I instantly called out, recognizing it by its shape and jagged border.  
  
''H-hey! I was going to say that.'' Shade protested but Zephyr just smiled, ignoring his outburst and continued with the test. ''Used for what?'' he asked turning to the Silverwing roosting next to me. ''Shade?'' ''Aching joints,'' Marina quickly answered before him.  
  
''Oh, that will come in handy,'' Shade grumbled, ''When I'm old.'' He turned his back on the three of us with his arms crossed. After a few seconds, he stretched himself with a yawn and started to complain again. ''We've been at this for almost two whole nights and you still haven't gotten around echo projection. Just constellations and boring herbs.''  
  
''Shade you will need that knowledge for the journey ahead,'' Zephyr explained while poking some holes in a dried up leaf and showed it to him. ''What is it?'' he asked.  
  
''A leaf?'' Shade replied with disinterest.

''And?''  
  
The two bats and I looked at each other and the holes in the leaf, wondering what Zephyr meant to tell us, but then we all smiled and got an idea.  
Marina took the leaf from the albino and held it into the sky so that the starts fit perfectly into the holes, drawing out the constellation.  
  
''Well done,'' Zephyr cheered, ''You three are beginning to use your brains.''  
  
''Now, can I learn echo projection?'' Shade eagerly asked.  
The old bat smiled silently and motioned us to follow him back inside the spire.  
''Alright!'' Shade beamed and bumped his fist into the air before flying after Zephyr.  
I chuckled at his reaction and let Marina carry me back into the spire as well.  
  
Back inside we three sat down on the wooden beams with Zephyr standing before us. With his thumbs and Forefingers pressed together, he instructed Shade what he had to do.  
  
''Capture the object with your heart,'' he said, ''Listen to it form in your imagination. Once you can hear it. Sing it.''  
  
Shade closed his eyes tightly and held his head while concentrating hard on performing an echo projection. Or at least tried so. Not that I could've seen it anyway but Marina seemed to see nothing as well according to her unimpressed expression. Still, Shade tried as hard as he could.  
  
''Can you see it?'' he asked us.  
  
''See what?''  
  
''Ugh, ... a giant ... bat, like the gargoyles with ... ugh ... huge claws and ... and teeth ...''  
  
''Eh, that would be a ... no.'' Marina answered briefly. I snorted quietly. Did he really think he could perform something like that right on the first try?  
  
''Try something simpler,'' Zephyr recommended, ''Like uh... a leaf.''  
  
Again Shade closed his eyes in deep concentration and tried to screen the picture of a leaf.  
At first, nothing seemed to happen but then I saw Marina staring at the ground with surprise. However, her expression changed into a small laugh and Shade opened his eyes again, looking very exhausted.  
  
''Well done, Shade,'' Zephyr praised.  
  
But the Silverwing wasn't as cheerful as him. Instead, he looked rather disappointed in himself.  
''I couldn't hold it,'' he said, ''It's gotta be longer and bigger and scarier.''  
  
''You just need some practice that's all,'' I said, and the albino nodded in agreement and walked up to Shade, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
''That and your emotions are getting in the way Shade,'' he said, making Shade sigh again. ''But like I said, for your first try you did very well.''  
  
''I wish I could have seen it,'' I admitted, ''It's really too bad that we humans are unable to see echoes like bats.''  
  
''Well, if I were you I wouldn't worry about that much. I surely believe that with some time and practice you will be able to see them.''  
  
I blinked in surprise and looked up at Zephyr, who's blind eyes focused at me together with a warm smile on his face.  
  
''Really? But how will that be possible? I mean how can I even learn to see them,'' I asked.  
  
''Let's just say you will find a way. For now, I think you should take a break and stretch your wings! All of you.''  
  
''But...''  
  
''You can pick some stinging nettle for me. A patch of it grows in an alley not far from the cathedral.''  
  
''Alright,'' I said and let Marina grabbed my hands with her feet before she flew out of the spire followed by Shade to gather the leaves.

* * *

As we flew through the city, I caught a sight of myself in the reflection of the buildings we passed by. I had to admit it looked kinda funny how I dangled under the Brightwings feet in the air like a puppet. Eventually, we arrived at the alley and quickly found the leaves Zephyr wanted.  
  
''We pick, you stand guard!'' Marina said, pointing at Shade.  
  
''What am I gonna guard against? The plant?'' Shade asked jokingly and started pulling the plant out himself.''  
  
''Wait let me help,'' I said rolling my eyes at his remark and together we pulled on the plant  
With a jolt, it was out of the ground and Shade and I tumbled backward onto our backs.  
  
''Ouch, ... got it,'' I said, holding the plant up with him for Marina to see.  
The Brightwing smiled at us in return but then her expression changed into horror and Shade and I quickly turned around to see what was wrong.  
Strangely enough, I couldn't see any danger around but the young Silverwing made a dash with the stinging needle in his hands.  
I was about to ask him why he hit the air with the leave when I heard a familiar laugh close to us and looked to my right. There I saw Zephyr dancing and clapping his hands joyfully on an old shopping card and I chuckled, getting what was going on. The old bat must have followed us and pranked us with one of his echo projections.

* * *

While the Silverwings roosted at the water tower, Chinook flew around through the forest hunting some bugs when two flying squirrels crossed his path.  
Apparently, they haven't noticed him yet so the young male quickly jumped into a nearby bush to hide. From there he could hear what the squirrels were talking about.  
  
''Oh, how I hate this'' one of them complained. His companion nodded in agreement. ''Yeah, I know what you mean. It's harassment.  
  
''I'm really getting sick and tired of being mistaken for a bat. Can't those stupid birds see the difference?''  
  
''They seem to think just because we have fur and fly they can pull us over on a whim.''  
  
The flying squirrel shook his head. ''Those owls. Instead of getting on our nerves they should rather protect us from these dangerous killing machines.''  
  
Chinook frowned. _''What are those two talking about?''_  
  
''Are you sure the rumors a true'' asked the other one doubtfully.  
  
''Well, not directly,'' his friend confessed, ''But I don't want to stay here and find out if a bunch of bats want to kill me or not. Seriously, if that's really what's going on then I'm more than glad that General Brutus closed the skies for all bats.''  
  
Chinook was shocked. The skies closed for bats? Even at night? He had to get back to the others immediately and inform Frieda about it.  
Anxiously he waited until the two flying squirrels continued their way then rushed back towards the water tower. There he noticed something flying in the distance and used his echolocation to see that it was a group of owls, led by a red cardinal.  
To his shock, he noticed they were heading straight to the place his colony was resting.  
  
Clenching his teeth together in anger, he recognized the little bird in front as the exact same one who offered Frieda to let her colony stay at the water tower in the first place.

* * *

After learning so much from the wise old bat it was finally time for us to go and to continue on our way to Hibernaculum.  
  
''You can only hear the world around you with emotions that are calm and a heart that is open,'' Zephyr explained while we all stood in the gargoyle's mouth one last time together, staring out into the starry sky.

I sighed softly, wondering how the Silverwings were doing at the moment and if they were alright and such. Next to me Shade closed his eyes and called up his mothers sound map. As he opened his eyes again we heard the bells from the cathedral ringing. The sound echoing around us.  
  
''Ugh, I doubt I will ever get used to that,'' Marina complained shaking her head.  
  
I turned to Shade and was about to ask what our next destination was when I saw him perking his ears up as if he waited for something. The rest of us stood silent, not wanting to disturb him, but we surely wondered what Shade was hoping to hear.  
Then, after the bell ringed for the seventh time, Shade flew up to the cross on top of the spire and ordered us to follow him.

After changing a confused look with Marina I let her grabbed my hands and flew up to Shade, followed by Zephyr.  
  
''What are we doing up here Shade?'' Marina asked puzzled.  
  
Before answering the Silverwing pointed at a bright star in the sky above. ''I figured out the next part of my mothers sound map,'' he said, ''We need to follow this star right there. My mother gave me the exact time and place where I'm supposed to be, so I can set our new course by the stars.''  
  
''Well, that's great,'' I said, recalling the number of bongs we have heard. Seven. So the time was now seven o'clock. ''But how can we stay sure we are still following the right star? We won't have the bell rings to tell us what time it is as soon as we are out of the city and I also don't have a watch.''  
  
''You must learn to measure time in your head,'' Zephyr told us as we landed back on the gargoyle, ''Your bodies know very well how much time has passed with each wingbeat. The stars move at a fixed rate. Once you know that, you'll be able to check your course through the night using that same star up there as a guide.''  
  
''Oh, sure. I get it,'' Shade said.  
  
''You will manage it,'' Zephyr said, his blind eyes focusing us all, ''All of you. Just follow your star.'' He looked up as a shooting star suddenly flashed by causing us to gasp in awe by the sight of it.  
  
''You can hear a star?'' Shade asked.  
  
''Hear? Hehe no. But I can sense it.'' the albino said, smiling.  
  
''Can you sense if we reach the colony?''  
  
Zephyr frowned in concentration and perked up his large ears, trying to catch the tiniest sound. With a sigh, he opened his wings as if that could help him to catch the sound better.  
  
As we watched silently, I thought to see the underside of his wings darken and blinked wondering if I was just seeing things but the wings definitely seemed to turn black and sparkled a little. Then Zephyr wrapped them over his head, cloaking himself.  
  
''Your journey will be like all journeys. Difficult and not like you expected,'' he said, his voice sounding distant and uncertain, ''You'll meet unexpected allies, but beware of metal on wings. And ... you will find Hibernaculum.''  
My heart leaped and Shade and I looked at each other with a grin on our faces but Zephyrs voice was far from joy as he continued. ''But others are searching for it too. Powerful forces and I can't see who will reach it first or whether they bring is good or bad.''  
  
Zephyr stopped and his head reappeared. He quickly folded his wings back together and told us that there wasn't more he could hear. ''The echoes are so faint and confused.''  
  
''Thank you anyway Zephyr,'' Marina said with a smile.  
  
''Yeah, thank you very much for everything,'' Shade said while I smiled at him too.  
  
''No problem. Now goodbye my children and good luck.''  
  
We said our goodbyes to him as well and continued our way while I hung on Shades feet.  
And as we left the cathedral more and more behind, I couldn't help myself but already started to miss the old bat, hoping to see him again someday.

* * *

As we flew through the city Marina suggested we should fly low so the owls wouldn't be able to see us and looked around for any signs of danger. Luckily everything seemed fine and the moment.  
I tightly hold on to Shade's feet and thought about random things to get my mind off the fact that I was technically dangling several feet up high in the air. I would probably never get used to that.  
Suddenly I heard something and looked around to see what it was.  
  
''Something wrong Vanessa?'' Marina asked looking at me.  
  
''I'm not sure but I thought I heard wing beats around.''  
  
Shade looked around as well. ''I don't see anything. Are you sure you heard right?''  
  
''Yes, I am sure. Though it sounded faint, I have to admit.''   
  
''Well, let's take no risk guys and hurry. The sooner we leave the city behind us the better.''  
I nodded and let Shade carry me through the air until we finally arrived at a forest with more places for us to hide in case of danger.  
Even though we seemed to be safe, I couldn't help myself but felt like someone followed us.

Eventually, we took a short break and landed on a branch of a tree.

''Dang it,'' I exclaimed suddenly remembering something I had totally forgotten.  
  
''What is it?'' Shade asked.  
  
''I forgot to ask Zephyr if he knew a way to turn me back to my old size.''  
  
''You think he would have known a way to help you with that?'' Marina asked and I shrugged.  
  
''I think so. After all, Frieda had said she wanted me to meet a good friend of hers on the way who might be able to help me and I'm sure she meant Zephyr.''  
  
''Uh, well. If you want, we can turn back and ask him.''  
  
''No Shade,'' I said shaking my head. ''We shouldn't lose more time than we already have. Besides, we have more important problems to think about first.''  
  
''Holy Nocturna,'' Marina gasped, ''We totally forgot to tell Zephyr about the closed sky for bats.''

Shade and I looked at her in shock.  
  
''That's right. We should have warned him,'' I said.  
  
''Alright, that's it we are going back.'' Shade soared up and hovered over me to grab my hands.''  
  
''Wait a second,'' Marina said thoughtfully, ''Maybe he already knows about it. I mean he has so much stuff in his storage that he probably won't be needing to leave the tower, so he should be practically safe.''  
  
Shade didn't look very convinced. ''I don't know. Maybe we should ...''  
  
''WATCH OUT!'' I cried out, just seconds before the owl could impale Shade with its sharp claws.  
  
With none of us knowing, a white barn owl had spotted us from a hidden place and attacked.  
Screeching furiously it charged on us again. So I hurried to grab Shade's feet to get the hell out of here but the bird was faster and grabbed my hood with his beak.

''HEY! LET GO!'' I demanded and struggled in its grasp with my feet wildly kicking the air.  
Marina and Shade tried to help me by attacking the bird but accomplished nothing. With one stroke of its big wings, it sent Marina back to another tree while Shade tried his best to avoid the owl's talons while trying to reach me.

Suddenly something big hit the owl from the side, causing it to look around in annoyance.  
Confused about what was going on I looked up and gasped. Not believing what I saw.


	14. Life Saviors

Before the owl could even realize what was going on, sharp claws hit it in the face causing the bird to screech out in pain.

I managed to rip off my hood from its claw and desperately clutched onto the owl's foot in fear of getting tossed through the air. I even shut my eyes tight and silently hoped for this all to be over soon.

The bird now charged in turn but its opponent quickly dodged the attack by simply jumping out of the way Fearfully I glanced back up to see the bat preparing for another strike.

Yes, a bat.  
It seemed unreal but recognizing its body shape and leathery wings I was certain it had to be one, though compared to my friends this one was gigantic. Its wings were huge and nearly blocked the full moon as it opened them to their full length with a dark chuckle before crashing down on the owl and sinking its claws into its flesh yet again.

Screeching in pain and irritation the owl tried to fight back but the bat just smirked and easily threw the bird over his head as if it was nothing but a toy and tossed him down into the next tree.

I wanted to scream as I lost my grip during the fall but my voice seemed to be stuck in my throat. Luckily Shade was close by and caught me by grabbing my leg with his own feet and carried me over to the branch of another tree.

Catching my breath I sat down, leaning my back against the bark and waited for my nerves to calm down.

''Are you alright?'' Marina asked me as she landed beside us on the branch.  
I just nodded still feeling unable to talk and looked back up into the sky.

The owl had managed to stop its own fall as well. Unfortunately, it also spotted us and was just about to attack. But then the huge bat from before tackled it again by slamming its hind claws into the owls back, causing it to drift away from its course. The bat then clung onto the bird with its full weight and let itself get carried through the air with a sinister laugh before letting go of it again just for those two to wrestle with each other in mid-air.

Shade, Marina and I watched with agitation how the two opponents fought with each other, by rolling around in the sky. Eventually the bat finally got on top of the owl and crashed them both right into a shrubbery down by the roots of the tree we were sitting on.

For a moment we watched with tense how the foliage shook and rattled because of the two still fighting inside then everything went silent.  
Neither I nor my two friends dared to speak a word. Like frozen we waited for something to happen.  
Suddenly the shrubbery moved again and a feathered wing appeared. We gasped in horror and were just about to hurry the hell out of here when we noticed that the wing wasn't moving. It just laid there still and lifeless. It took us a moment but then finally realized that the owl was dead.

Right then our life savior stepped out of the shrubbery and brushed some dust from its fur.

It was a young adult male, much older than Shade and nearly three times his size with grey-brown fur, a beige-colored mane, purple wings and long crimson red hair plus a neatly trimmed beard in the same color. Furthermore, he looked barely exhausted from the fight and didn't even had any scratches on his muscular body.

Watching him from above I figure that he hadn't noticed us yet.

''Guys let's go,'' Marina urged us in a strained voice, wanting away from here as quick as possible.

''But he saved us,'' Shade protested, ''We can't just leave without thanking him first.''

''Yes, we can. This guy just killed that owl which is totally abnormal for any bat I know. Who knows what this guy might do to us.''

''You are totally overreacting here.''

''Guys, please,'' I hissed at them, ''not so loud. He might hear...Yikes! *the small twig I was leaning against while taking a closer look at the bat snapped under my weight and fell down to his feet, causing him to look up and spot us in the tree above.

I gulped seeing the fresh blood dripping from his muzzle and the dark menacingly look in his lemon-colored eyes.

He frowned in confusion, noticing me when suddenly another strange bat, another male appeared and landed beside the other one on the ground.  
This one was much smaller and chubbier with grey-blue fur, a dark green mane, dark blue wings and long indigo colored hair and goatee  
Unlike the other, he hadn't noticed us yet and hungrily licked his libs at the sight of the dead owl in the shrubbery.

He was just about to jump at it when the other bat stopped him by holding his arm out in front of his face. With a quietly displeased growl, the smaller bat turned around but his frown quickly changed into a delighted grin as soon as he noticed us.  
Both bats stared at us for a moment and I noticed that they were both banded just like Marina. But unlike her, the bands that covered their left wrists were bronze-colored not silver.  
Eventually, the larger bat wiped the blood from his muzzle with the back of his hand and his expression surprisingly changed into a softer one.

''Pardon my manners,'' he said with a Spanish accent and slightly bowed down before us, ''I'm Goth and this ... is my cousin Throbb.'' He paused and grudgingly gave a slight nod towards the pudgy bat next to him who greeted us as well with a bright smile on his face.

''H-hi...,'' Shade greeted them back, ''Eh, I'm Shade and these are Vanessa and Marina.  
The Brightwing gasped softly as Shade mentioned our names and looked down fearfully at the two large bats below. Before I could ask her what was wrong, the two males flew up to us on the branch with a few strong flaps of their huge wings. I gulped a bit. Up closer their sizes were much more impressive. Especially Goths.

''We are new to these lands,'' he told us,'' Torn away from our own.

''Oh, us too,'' Shade said, naively lowering his guard in front of the two strangers.

''I see we have much in common.'' Goth smiled and I couldn't help but felt a little uneasy because of the way he looked at us three. Like he was hiding something from us.

''All we want is to get back to our home in the south but we cannot read this eh ... northern stars,'' he said and pointed up towards the night sky with a troubled look on his face.

I felt like I knew what he was talking about. Thanks to Zephyr I could at least now search out some constellation but picking out a single star by its name was still very difficult for me. I hoped Shade or Marina still knew which star we had to follow on our way to hibernaculum because I already forgot which one it was.

''You two can travel with us!'' Shade proposed without thinking twice, ''We are headed south to find my colony.''

''We'd be delighted. And in return allow us to offer our protection,'' Goth said.

Shade nodded smiling. ''It's a deal.''

Suddenly three moanful hoots floated through the night air causing us to freeze on our spot.

''What was that?'' Goth asked, looking around.

''More owls,'' Shade explained, ''they are calling for their sentry. They'll come if they don't hear back from him. We should get moving.''  
We all nodded in agreement and got ready to move. Marina was first to jump back into the air, spreading her wings out and hovering over me to grab my hands with her feet.

''What are you doing?'' Goth asked, looking slightly puzzled by the sight of me dangling under the Brightwings feet.

''Well, I don't have any wings and Shade and Marina are not big enough to carry me around otherwise,'' I explained but Goth shook his head.

''That's no safe way of traveling for you Senorita. The risk of either your friend letting you go or you losing your grip by yourself is too high. And we surely don't wish for you to fall to your death, right?''

Why did I get the feeling this might be exactly his intentions? Probably just my imagination.  
Who was I to judge someone I barely knew anything about?!

The tall bat turned to his cousin and signed to come over while Marina landed me back on the branch.

''Throbb here will be so kind to carry you around on his back,'' Goth simply said.

''What? Why me?'' the smaller bat protested but then flinched back by the way Goth was looking at him. ''Uh, ... I mean...si that's no problem. It would be an honor for me to be your mode of transportation.'' He chuckled nervously and gave a short bow before me.

''Eh, thank you but I don't think that's really necessary,'' I said but Throbb shook his head.

''No, no I insist,'' he replied determinedly and I exchange a short glance with Marina, who just shrugged not knowing how to help me with this.  
Knowing we couldn't stay here forever I let out a soft sigh and agreed to ride on Throbb's back during our journey.

''Are you sure about this?'' Marina asked me under her breath.

''Yeah, it will be fine,'' I whispered back even though I wasn't truly sure about this and climbed on the big bat's back. I barely wrapped my arms around Throbb's neck as he already took off with speed causing me to cling on him more tightly.

''Don't worry Senorita. I'm not gonna drop you,'' he said laughing a little.  
I lose my grip a little but still felt uncertain as we flew through the sky right behind Goth, Marina and Shade.

* * *

''OWLS!'' Chinook cried as soon as he reached the water tower. Immediately he was covered by dozens of eyes who stared down at him with confusion and fear and a general disturbance broke out among the bats.  
  
He had barely time to catch his breath when Bathsheba approached him on the wooden beam.  
  
''What's this about owls?'' she demanded to know.  
  
''There is a bounty on our heads, and we-,'' Chinook tried to explain but Bathsheba quickly cut him off.  
  
''A bounty? Don't be ridicu-'' But before she could say anything more Frieda already raised her voice towards the colony.  
  
''Silverwings, prepare to evacuate the roost,'' she said with authority and soon after everyone soared up from their roost and followed her into the sky.  
  
''Where should we go?'' Ariel asked with worry and took a fearful look back over her shoulder just to see three owls getting closer to the water tower.  
  
''That building over there,'' Mercury quickly said and nodded towards the sawmill in just a few wingbeats away from them. There was no proof if it was safe but it was the closest thing to hide inside and without other options, they had no choice but to risk it and flew in.Unfortunately, they were watched by the red cardinal and the rest of the owl patrol.

* * *

We flew quietly through the forest. Shade at the front talking with Goth while I, Throbb and Marina followed close behind. I still felt uncertain about those two giant bats but as long as I had no proof of them meaning any harm I swore to myself not to judge Goth or Throbb too soon.  
  
However, this didn't mean I trusted them.  
  
A few hours later we came across a large birch tree and Shade suggested to us to stop and roost there for a while.

Our new ''friends'' didn't seem that tired already but Shade looked like he would fall from the sky  
if we kept going any longer.  
  
Goth said nothing against it and just nodded before landing on top of a branch, while Shade and Marina roosted on the branch across.  
  
Throbb flew towards the branch where Goth stood on and passed another one right under Shade and Marina.  
Not wanting to be on the same branch as the two giant bats and rather close to my friends, I jumped off from his back, grabbing the branch with all fours and tried to climb up on it.  
  
''Eh... señorita may I help you there?'' Throbb asked while watching me, but I quickly shook my head.  
  
''No, no. It's fine. ... I got this,'' I said barely convincing myself. Climbing this branch up proved to be much more difficult than I first thought.  
In the end, I hung there like a sloth with my arms and legs wrapped around the wood.  
My cheeks burned red with embarrassment and I didn't dare to look around, knowing they were all watching me. Luckily after one more try, I finally lifted myself on the right side of the branch. There I sat down close to the trunk and avoided the glance of the others.  
  
Suddenly a cold wind swept by, causing me to shiver a little, so I pulled my cloak closer around me to get more warmth.  
  
''Is it always so cold here?'' Throbb asked, shivering as well.  
  
''Just in winter,'' Marina said.  
  
''Winter?'' Throbb looked as if she just asked him a complicated math question or something. Didn't he know what winter was?  
  
''We are migrating,'' Shade explained, finding Throbb's reaction also surprising, ''Every winter we go south to find a warmer place to hibernate.''  
  
''Hibernate?'' Goth asked puzzled.  
  
''A long sleep.''  
  
''How long?''  
  
''Months. That's all we do. Sleep and sleep until it gets warmer.''  
  
''Well, how unusual,'' Goth replied. ''Bats that sleep for months on end. What strange customs you have in the north. Where we are from it is warm and sunny all year around. Makes a bat grow to a reasonable size.'' With a chuckle, he opened his wings to demonstrate their enormous size.  
  
''As a prince, I am a magnificent specimen even by my colony standards,'' he said proudly.  
Throbb chuckled at this and coughed as he almost choked on his own spit.  
  
''How did you end up so far from home?'' Marina asked.  
  
''Oh, eh... The royal guard was not acting with his ears wide open,'' Goth answered, the smile fading from his place, turning into a discomfort frown, ''The daily humans captured us, banded us and brought us here to be imprisoned.'' He clenched his fist at this memory then turned to Marina to see her having a band herself on her wrist.  
  
''I see you were also taking prisoner by those smelly humans señorita,'' he said.  
  
_''Excuse me,'' _I thought and glared at him angrily, but he ignored me.  
  
''No, they did not keep me prisoner,'' Marina said, ''They gave me the band and let me go again, but...''  
  
''They didn't bring you to the artificial jungle?'' Goth asked. Marina shook her head, looking confused.  
  
''What's a jungle?'' Shade asked curiously and flew over to the two giant bats. I assumed he had never heard of places like this before. Goth seemed to be a little surprised that Shade didn't know about such a place but joyfully explained it to him.  
  
''A jungle is an explosion of color. Born in the heat and the sun. We, the Vampyrum Spectrum, live as we choose in our jungle. With the warmth on our wings and our bellies never empty.  
We eat only the most succulent of small birds, the tastiest of lizards and other ... small animals.'' With a bright grin, he leaned down closer to the young Silverwing.  
  
''Wait a minute. You guys eat...meat?'' Marina asked disbelievingly.  
  
''Yeah, I always thought all bats eat only bugs like moths or beetles and stuff,'' Shade said looking surprised about it too.  
  
''No, such things were never on our menu,'' Goth said having a disgusted look on his face.  
It was good to hear that someone else was also not happy about the thoughts of eating insects.  
Though, the fact that these two Vampyrums were meat-eaters made me feel less comfortable around them than before.  
  
It was good to hear that someone else was also not happy about the thoughts of eating insects. Though, the fact that these two Vampyrums were meat-eaters made me feel less comfortable around them than before. Speaking of food. Throbb mumbled something about being hungry and flew off to find himself something to eat. I couldn't help but felt a bit hungry myself but the thought of eating another bug turned it down. Instead, I tried to focus on something else and listen to Goth, who answered all the questions Shade asked him about his life and the jungle. Their conversation went on for hours and after a while, I started to feel a little tired.  
  
''Enough about me,'' Goth finally said while crouching on the branch, bringing Shades endless questions to an end, ''What about you?''  
  
''Oh, well,'' Shade began, hanging back on the branch next to Marina, ''We Silverwings live as we choose to too. Like the rule that bats can't look at the sun. Well, I did. Even if the owls didn't like it.''  
  
''Didn't like it? Eh, Shade... they burned down your roost. Remember?'' I said looking up at him, raising an eyebrow.  
  
''Why did your males not safe you?'' Goth asked with a frown.  
  
''They weren't there. They were waiting for us in Stonehold. That's where we were getting to migrate to before the owls attacked.'' Shade let out a sigh and flew up on top of the branch he roosted before. ''I hate the owls. Even more than I hate the treaty.''  
  
''Treaty?''  
  
''Basically, the bats were punished for not taking sides in the battle of the birds and the beasts. That's why we have to fly at night.'' Shade sighed again and flew over to a branch above the one where Goth was.  
  
''Hmm... I could bring an army from my species from the south and end this persecution once and for all,'' the Vampyrum said and stood back up again, ''You Shade could be my commander-in-chief. I think you have the makings of a great warrior.''  
  
Shade was flashed at this compliment and smiled brightly.  
  
''Your father must be very proud.''  
  
Shades smile faded, and he turned his eyes away with a sigh.  
  
''I...don't have a father,'' he said, '' Cassiel, my dad, disappeared while scouting one night. They say the owls got him.''  
  
Hearing this Goth flew up to his branch and put a comforting hand on the small bat's shoulder.  
''A boy without a father,'' he spoke his voice sounding soft and consoling.  
However, the expression, especially the slight grin told something different.  
I couldn't help but felt even more uncomfortable now. Looking up I noticed Marina was probably thinking just the same.

* * *

Back with the Silverwings, the Birds waited until the last bat vanished through a small crack inside the building. Then they dashed down to the roof and picked holes into the wood with their sharp claws and beaks.

The Silverwings were terrified, knowing they were trapped. It was only a matter of time until the birds would have found their way into them.  
Frieda knew she had to act fast to save her colony. The owls already managed to tear a hole, big enough for their heads to fit through. A little more, and they would get in completely.

The room was big and long and luckily the door of the sawmill was wide open. But would they be fast enough to reach it before the owls got them? And what about those human machines that seemed to move all on their own? Huge sharp discs rotating, faster than a bat could flap its wings, moving up and down. Cutting tree trunks without problems. Flying through that might be the best way to avoid getting caught but also very dangerous.  
Hearing another cracking sound coming from above Frieda knew they had no choice but to move now.

''This way. Keep it tight and be careful,'' she spoke and led her colony down to the woodcutting machines. Without hesitation, the bats followed her.  
They saw the saws and how big and dangerous they were, but they also trusted their leader, hoping she would get them all out of here safely.

Meanwhile, the owls finally got inside as well and immediately began racing after the bats. They followed them blindly which caused one owl to get knocked out by a log which unexpectedly hit it straight in the face. However, this didn't stop the rest to keep hunting the Silverwings through the mill.

Another log got thrown down by a machine nearly crashing the bats, but they quickly avoided it.  
Unfortunately, their hunters weren't hit by it this time and Frieda feared they would all get caught if she didn't do something.

Her gaze went back to the front and towards the razor-sharp saws. The up and down movements weren't that fast and if they were quick enough, they might got through without getting cut. But it was a huge risk. A risk she had to take in order to hopefully save them all.  
In her thoughts, Frieda sent a hurried prayer to Nocturna and dashed towards the first saw.  
  
Bathsheba gasped with horror at what Frieda was doing, but there was no way back. The owls and the cardinal were right behind them. The small red bird smirked confidently, his talons stretched out to grab the next bat he could get. But right as the last Silverwing flew under the saw. The sharp disc swiped down without warning. Gasping in shock the cardinal stopped himself just in time and flew back up to the roof.  
  
The owls finally took notice of the danger and stopped the hunt to get away from the machines. One owl miscalculated his ascent and slammed right into the saws.  
With one last horrific screech he was cut into pieces. Feathers and blood splashing all over the machine.  
What a terrible loss but worse of all the Silverwings were gone. There was no sight of them inside the building anymore. They must have escaped through the wide open entrance. Growling dangerously, one of the owls gave the cardinal a last warning glare before retreating with the rest of his flock.

* * *

After a few minutes of chatting Throbb finally returned, and we went back on our road.  
  
Shade and Marina were flying on top, talking to each other while Goth and Throbb followed behind with me yet again sitting on the grey-blue Vampyrum's back.  
  
I didn't want to be so close by those meat-eaters but Goth once again insisted that I shouldn't hang on my friend's feet. Also, did he said I could rest a bit on Throbb's back after noticing my tiredness.  
I was tired yes, but too uncomfortable with those two around to even think of sleeping.  
To make things worse, it also started to rain. I could feel my clothing getting instantly soaking wet, so I laid down deeper on Throbb's back and pulled the hood more over my head, trying to hide from the rain as good as I could. Crappy weather.  
  
''Brr, how can it be so cold and-and wet and-and cold?'' Throbb asked, shivering under me.  
  
''We will not have to put up with this much longer,'' I heard Goth saying and wondered what he meant.  
  
''Why don't we just eat them?''  
  
I froze. What did he just say?  
  
''Shh! idiota, she might hear you,'' Goth snarled at his cousin.  
  
''Nah, I think she is asleep Goth. I didn't hear a sound from her for quite some time.''  
  
I closed my eyes and force myself to breathe calmly like if I was really asleep while feeling Goth checking on me to see if I was sleeping or not.  
  
''Now, can you please tell me why we can't eat these two bats?'' Throbb asked again sounding impatient.  
  
Goth chuckled softly. ''Why eat two now when you can be patient and eat an entire colony?''  
  
Throbb now chuckled as well with malicious delight and I dug my hands deeper into his fur, still acting like I was asleep and not having heard a word they just said.


	15. Horrible Truth

Later that night, a few miles away from Vanessa and the bats, there was a truck loaded with logs driving up to a gas station.  
As soon as the driver got out of the car, a bat who was none other than Mercury peaked his head out from under the fabric that covered the logs and checked his surroundings.  
  
''All clear,'' he announced happily for there was no sign of danger before flying back into the woods followed by the rest of the Silverwings.  
They didn't fly too far and soon stopped again by some trees to hold a small meeting about what had happened at the sawmill.  
  
Bathsheba was the first to raise her voice to speak: ''Why would the owls target our colony?'' she asked frowning.  
  
''Well, I heard some flying squirrels say that a Silverwing was on a killing spree,'' Chinook answered, causing the elders to gasp in shock while looking at each other as the rest of the colony started whispering around with agitation and fear.  
  
''I have never heard of bats killing animals,'' said Frieda and the colony slowly calmed back down. ''If the owls believe in this, then their flying in formation and pigeons on night guard makes senses.''  
  
''We should have given up Shade and that girl in the first place,'' growled Bathsheba, '' I told you that human will bring nothing but trouble to the colony.''  
  
Another murmur went through the crowd, but Frieda quickly hushed everyone down with a wave of her wings. ''Enough! What's done is done. But I sure doubt that neither Shade nor Vanessa has anything to do with any of this.''  
  
''Really? And what explanation do you have for what happened to us since the human and the runt went missing?''  
  
Before Frieda could answer, Mercury raised his voice.  
''Dawn is coming, Frieda. Where do we go now?'' he said warningly while scanning the horizon.  
The eastern sky was indeed getting lighter and the first birds began to sing the first tones of the morning chorus.  
  
''We must continue on as scheduled,'' indicated Bathsheba with a grin on her face but Frieda shook her head.  
  
''With the owls on our heels it may not be safe to stay on the direct path,'' she said.  
  
The pudgy elder snarled in annoyance and pointed her claw at the chief elder.  
''We have already suffered enough from your rash decisions. We must go back to our route!''  
  
The colony muttered in agreement and Frieda could sense their trust in her fading. She knew she had to agree with Bathsheba as well and so gave out a defeated sigh.  
  
''Alright,'' she said then raised her voice, ''Prepare to head to the towers of fire.''  
  


Ariel looked quite worrisome to her leader while Bathsheba just grinned with satisfaction.

* * *

I must have fallen asleep.  
The first thing I noticed after opening my eyes was that the rain had stopped and my clothes were almost dry again as well the fur I was lying upon.  
  
... Wait! ... fur?  
  
Slightly confused I took a looked around and saw Shade and Marina flying ahead with a much larger bat flying behind them together with another one on whose back I was sitting on.  
It took me a moment but then I recognized them both as the two meat-eating bats Goth and Throbb from the jungle down south and let out a soft sigh with relief, thinking everything was okay. But wait! If really everything was alright, then why did I get such a warning like feeling whenever I looked at those two Vampyrums? Was I imagine things again?  
  
... No. I wasn't.  
  
With shock, I remember Goth and Throbb's conversation about eating Shade's colony but was this truth? Did I really hear them say this or did my tired mind just made that up?  
I hoped so, but what if it was the truth?  
  
''I think we've reached the southern valley,'' I heard Marina saying up front and the four bats flew up higher to check our surroundings.  
  
For me, this part of the forest didn't look much different from the one we were in before. There might have been more pine trees but apart from that ...  
I would be so lost without my friends. There was no way I could find my way through the forest all on my own nor could I read the stars to guide me.  
Speaking of stars. Where we still following the star on Shade's map? Hard to tell, because the sky was already starting to get brighter with the stars fading away.  
  
''How are we ever going to find your colony Shade?'' Marina sighed hopelessly.  
  
''You know,'' Goth suggested, ''If you called up your sound map, together we could try to figure out where your colony is.''  
  
I gasped softly and looked over at Shade, hoping he won't actually listen to him. but to my and Marinas horror he closed his eyes tightly and began to concentrate.  
  
''Focus Shade,'' Goth instructed him softly.  
  
''I-I see...a countryside,'' Shade said struggling a little, ''I see cities, cathedrals ... ugh ... now I see... towers. They are consumed by flames and there are lines of fires shooting in and out of them.''  
  
Unable to say more Shade opened his eyes back up again and dropped down in exhaustion but quickly caught himself again.  
  
Goth smiled ''Hm, you have given us something to work with Shade,'' he said slyly then turned his head around and started sniffing. Throbb did the same and looked back at his cousin with a dark grin on his face.  
  
''Uh- please excuse us,'' Goth asked gentlemanly, ''We hear the lunch special here is ... excellent.''  
  
And with that he and Throbb dove back down into the woods but not without dropping me off on the closest tree first.

Shade and Marina landed down beside me and as soon as the two larger bats were out of sight the young Brightwing shoved her face angrily into the Silverwing's.  
  
''How could you just blurt out your sound map like that?'' she asked furiously.  
  
''You know, I think maybe you were on that island so long you don't know how to trust a friend,'' he returned in annoyance.  
  
''Better friendless than clueless.''  
  
Shade just huffed and dove back down into the forest not caring if we followed him or not.  
Marina pouted and shook her head while watching him go.  
  
''Uh, maybe we should go after him,'' I softly suggested just to have the Brightwing's glare now turned on me.  
  
''Say, do you trust those two meat-eaters?''  
  
''Uh,...I uh...''  
  
''Well, yes or no? Because I say we should ditch them and that as soon as possible.''  
  
I nodded knowing she was right after what I overheard earlier. But before I could tell her about it, Marina jumped up and instructed me to grab her feet not wanting to wait for my answer and followed Shade into the woods.

After a short hunting trip, we all met again by an old beech tree and spend the day in an abandoned squirrel den. It was a little cramped with all five of us inside but not too uncomfortable as well. Plus, our body heat quickly warmed up the place from the cold wind coming from outside.

* * *

The next evening I woke up with a yawn and stretched myself get the sleep out of my body.  
Looking around, I saw my friends still sleeping but also found someone missing.  
Throbb was still there, snoring loudly in a corner but there was no sign of his cousin anywhere which made me wonder if he went out for breakfast already. In this case, I might as well waited until he returned, not wanting to accidentally stumble across him while he was eating his prey.  
Then again... It wasn't like I haven't seen carnivorous animals eating before. ... Okay, this was mostly on television and not in real life but hey it's nature.  
  
Still, I couldn't help but felt endangered with those two Vampyrum bats around.  
The words of their conversation last night came back to my mind, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions so easily. I might have misheard something or Goth had known I wasn't really asleep and made a joke just to scare me or something. A sick joke however but after telling us what he had experienced before I came to the conclusion that he most likely wasn't so well-disposed towards humans at all. In this case, it would make sense if he wanted to scare me.  
Yeah, at least that might be something Shade would tell me. There was no way he would agree on separating from the two Vampyrums just because of some presumptions. I needed proof.  
  
But that for later. Right now I was in need of something else. Something more important. A toilet.  
  
Obviously, I couldn't go here, so I stepped out of the den and carefully climbed down the tree.  
I went very slowly and highly concentrated, trying to ignore my beating heart and shaking limbs while cursing my high anxiety in my mind.  
It took me a while but then I finally made it down to the roots and jumped onto the grass.  
There I hurried over to the next bush and did my business. Afterward, I washed my hands in a small puddle close by and looked for something to eat.  
  
''Aren't here any blueberries around?'' I asked myself while searching but unfortunately, there seemed to be no edible fruits or berries for me around.  
All I found was a fat white grub behind a tall blade of grass, crawling over the ground in search of some leaves to eat. ''No way,'' I said in disgust. I might have been hungry but not that hungry to eat something like that. I let the grub be and continued my way through the forest.  
I tried to stay close to the beech tree where the others still slept but after a while, I looked around and ... couldn't find it anymore.  
  
_''Oh, no,'' _I thought with despair. I was so focused on seeking food that I didn't check if the said tree was still nearby. Instead, I was now surrounded by all kind of different trees and no beech tree.  
I gulped and tried to find my way back, thinking I shouldn't have gone too far away from it.  
Though, was this the right way to get back to the others or should I've taken a left by that maple tree over there? Or a right by the two pine trees? Or rather...? Argh!!! How could I've been so stupid and not watch where I was going. Now I was lost.  
  
With a sigh, I sat down on a leave and thought about my next steps. I could scream for help and hope the others hear me. But in case they were just around the next corner I did not. Not wanting to embarrass myself. Then again, doing nothing wouldn't help me either.  
  
Suddenly I heard some rustling and turned around seeing nothing. With tense, I listened again but everything was quiet. Too quiet.  
''Alright, congratulations Vanessa you just won the prize of the most stupid decision ever:  
Going for a lone walk through a forest in the middle of the night.'' I could've just slapped myself.  
  
But let's keep our shirts on. Right now I seemed safe. That was good. Question was: For how long?  
Instead of staying here and talking loudly to myself, and probably attracting the attention of possible predators, I got back up and looked for a safe spot to hide. After that, I could still wonder about how to contact my friends about my whereabouts.  
  
Leaves rustled again, and I slowly began to feel like something was watching me.  
I hurried my steps, but the rustling grew louder and closer. Also, were that wings flapping I heard?  
I went faster, hoping to get rid of my haunter. But the sound of something behind me got closer and closer.

Eventually, I started to run. This was probably a bad idea, but I was scared and not in the mood of thinking about something else to do right now. I just run and run, stumbled over some twigs and leaves and kept running. I didn't even dare to look behind me, I just kept running as far as my legs would take me and... almost fell into a river.  
  
Out of nowhere my path suddenly stopped and the earthy ground switched with sparkling wet water. Unfortunately, I run with such élan that I was unable to break before stumbling over the bank. Luckily, something caught me by my cloak and roughly pulled me back just on time.

''Ouch!'' I exclaimed as my butt hardly hit the ground.  
  
Hearing amused chuckling I turned around and saw Goth towering over me with a grin on his face.  
  
''Did you try to go for an evening swim señorita?'' He asked jokingly.  
  
I shook my head. ''N-no I was just ... eh ...''  
  
''Yes?'' Goth seemed to be interested to know why I nearly dumped into the river, but he couldn't fool me. I knew by his expression that he knew it was most likely him I had been running away from earlier, but I stayed silent.  
The Vampyrum kept staring at me for a moment, waiting for an answer then just shrugged.  
  
''Whatever, I think you should go back now. Your friends are looking for you,'' he said and pointed with his thumb claw over his shoulder  
Nodding slightly I got back up on my feet and walked past him into the said direction.  
I could feel his gaze upon me, but I did not dare to turn around. Instead, I kept walking silently straight ahead.  
I didn't know if he was following me or if I even walked into the right direction but when I stepped through a fern frond which crossed my way I finally saw my two bat friends again.  
  
''Vanessa!'' Shade exclaimed as soon as he spotted me, ''Where have you been. Marina and I were looking all over for you.'' He swooped down and landed before me on the ground with the young Brightwing beside him.  
  
''You can be such a pain you know,'' she said looking at me reproachfully.  
  
''Sorry guys, I needed to stretch my legs a bit and ... got a bit lost, but now I'm back.''  
  
''Maybe next time you don't walk too far away from us,'' Shade suggested and smiled a bit.  
  
I nodded, smiling back. ''Sure.''  
  
''Alright, then,'' said Marina, ''Let's grab some food and then meet our two meat-eater friends back here in an hour.  
  
''Alright.''   
  
''I'll wait for you here then,'' I said.  
  
''Should I take you back into the squirrel den then?''   
  
''Sure.''  
  
Shade got airborne and grabbed my hands with his feet to carry me back up to where we used to sleep the day before. Then he flew back out and joined Marina for a quick hunting trip while I waited for them to return.

* * *

A few hours later we continued our journey until we decide to take another short break by some trees.   
  
Shade happily chattered a bit with the two giant bats, asking them more questions about their homeland and everything while Throbb tried to clean Goth's band by blowing air on it and rubbing it with the back of his winged arm.  
  
''These bands! They are hard to clean and twice as hard to keep shiny,'' he complained with a frown, obviously not feeling happy of playing the servant for his cousin.  
  
The moon was already high up into the sky, but at least we got to a certain extent closer to Hibernaculum. Still, how much longer until we would finally get there? A few nights? Longer?  
I just hoped we would reach it before the weather got too cold to survive outside.  
Especially for me.  
  
''Why do you think the human's band bats anyway?'' Shade asked and I couldn't help but felt a bit hurt because I already told him why we did that. Then again, he might just want to hear Goth and Throbb's opinion about this. So I stayed silent and waited for them to respond, feeling quite curious about what they may have to say about it just to hear a soft growl escaping Goth's throat.  
  
''To imprison us,'' he said, his deep hate for my kind clearly written on his face. ''So they can steal the secret of our night vision.'' He violently tried to pull his band off, but it didn't even move an inch, causing him to roar in irritation and to bite down on the metal. Still, the band stayed stuck on his arm as if it was a part of himself.  
  
''_If he keeps on doing that he will probably break a tooth,''_ I thought while watching him.  
  
''Not all humans are that bad,'' Marina said, taking a short glance over at me, ''Maybe the band means something good.''  
  
Goth stopped chewing on his band and glances upon her, his eyebrow raised with disinterest.  
''Huh, such as?''  
  
''I don't know ... Something special.''  
  
The Vampyrum chuckled and rolled his eyes in amusement. ''Something special,'' he repeated mockingly, ''How amusing señorita.''  
  
Marina looked pretty offended by his words and turned away with a huff while I glared down on him angrily. ''Hey, no need to be mean. She was just saying her opinion.''  
  
Goth looked at me unperturbed.  
''Oh, did she? And what do you wish to tell me with this? Perhaps that this is the truth or something?''  
  
''Eh, no. But just because you have a different opinion about it, doesn't mean hers is total nonsense. It might sound absurd but maybe there really is something the bands are connected with,'' I said remembering Frieda's words to me and Shade back in the echo chamber.  
Unfortunately, Goth did not seem to listen to any word I've just said.  
  
''Whatever you say señorita,'' he said and gave out a bored yawn.  
  
''_Oh, why do I even bother?''_ I thought frowning at him. Turning away I saw Marina lifting off into the forest, probably wanting to be away from Goth for a while.  
I sighed and wanted to leave as well. ''Come on Shade, let's follow her and see if she's alright.''  
The Silverwing nodded and picked me up by my hands before following Marina. but not without giving Goth and his cousin an apologizing shrug first.

* * *

With a frown, Goth watched that so-called human and the runty Silverwing flying after their friend. ''Those chicas are starting to annoy me,'' he said.  
  
Throbb chuckled darkly. ''I know a way how to get rid of them both.''  
  
Goth shook his head. ''Not now.'' The time wasn't ready. Throbb didn't look so keen having to wait, but Goth knew acting too soon wasn't best decision.

Just then he heard a pair of wings flapping close by and noticed Throbb looking with eager into the sky.  
  
''Now?'' He asked, hungrily licking his lips and getting ready to fly, but his cousin quickly shoved him away by pushing his wing in his way.

''Claws off! It's mine.'' Goth snarled and quickly soared after his prey.

* * *

''Hey, wait!'' Shade and I quickly caught on Marina, but she ignored us and kept flying ahead without looking back. Shade clicked his tongue in annoyance and sped up a bit to get closer to her.  
''What's your problem?'' he asked just to earn a glare from the Brightwing.  
  
''You agree with everything Goth says. He is not as nice as you think.''  
  
''You are just mad, 'cause Goth told you your band doesn't mean you're special.''  
  
''Shade!'' I glared upon him, not liking the scornful tone in his voice.''  
  
''Now, seriously,'' he said not reacting to me, ''I don't understand why you are so sore about this.''  
  
''Oh, so you do agree with him and think the bands are nothing but stupid pieces of metal, the humans stick on bats just to mark them?!''  
  
''...well, it does sound logical.''  
  
Marina huffed and shook her head. ''Impossible.''  
  
''Now, come on. I didn't say the bands were bad.''  
  
''You know if that's the truth then why should I even bother trying to find the Silverwings and meet Frieda?''  
  
''Beats me,'' Shade scoffed.  
  
Marina glared at him again. ''Know what? I've had it. I'm going back to the island. I wish I had never met you.''  
  
''Well,'' Shade retorted, ''if you are going to be all negative then the sooner you leave the better.''  
  
I tried to say something, seeing the hurt look in Marina's eyes, but she already flew off before I could even open my mouth. ''Did you have to do that?'' I asked, looking back up on Shade.''  
  
''Hey, it was her decision to go. What else should I have done? Tie her up and bind her to my back?''  
  
I kept glaring at him. ''That's not what I mean,'' I said.  
  
He sighed. ''Listen, I'm disappointed too, that she left. I really thought she was our friend.''  
  
''She is our friend. Though I don't think Goth and Throbb are.''  
  
Shade groaned in annoyance. ''Seriously? There is nothing wrong with those two. Sure they eat meat and are much bigger and more dangerous looking like other bats, but think about it. Goth and Throbb could protect the colony and us while we are on our way to Hibernaculum. Remember Vanessa, the owls closed the sky for all bats. Without those Vampyrums we would stand no chance against them.''  
  
''True but...''  
  
''See. Now come on. Let's go back to them before they wonder where we are.''  
  
I didn't want to but since I didn't have another option left, I let him carry me back to our ''friends'' and wondered if Marina would be alright.

* * *

As we arrived, I saw Goth pushing something under a shrubbery with his foot and wiped his muzzle clean. I assumed he went hunting and was glad that he was nice enough to hide the carcass from our eyes.  
  
''Hola!'' He greeted us as we landed before him on the ground, ''Where is Marina?''  
  
''She decided to go back to her island,'' Shade said and sighed softly.  
  
''Oh,'' said Goth and looked into the distance, ''There are owls about, and we promised to protect you three.'' He turned to his cousin. ''Throbb! Go find Marina and eh...escort her. It is the least we can do to repay her.''  
  
Throbb grinned sinisterly and nodded before leaving on the spot.

I squinted my eyes a bit, finding his behavior a little strange.  
  
''Now, why not call up your sound map again?'' Goth suggested, looking down on Shade, ''See if we can narrow in on your colony.''  
  
For some reason, I didn't like the tone in his voice. It sounded like he was planning something. Something bad. Glancing at Shade I noticed that he seemed to sense some foreboding as well judging his worried and confused expression.  
Just then I noticed the smell. The intensive scent ... of iron.  
Wondering where it was coming from I looked around until my eyes focused onto the shrubbery and I remembered watching Goth hiding something under there.  
  
The Vampyrum himself, however, did not seem to notice our worry and ambled around, mumbling a bit to himself. One edge of his curled wing got stuck on a blade of grass. Unaware he pulled it free, just to reveal the torn wing of a dead Brightwing.  
  
All colors immediately vanished my face as I stared down on it with complete disbelieve.

Trying my best to stay calm I eagerly tucked on Shade's wing. The Silverwing seemed to be a little annoyed about this at first but when he saw what was lying under the bushes, he couldn't help but let out a sharp horrified gasp at what he saw. I quickly pressed my hand on his mouth to prevent him from screaming and forced my eyes away from the corpse and back on Goth, just realized what was going on.

_''They are cannibals. They are freaking cannibals!!!''_

''Something wrong, amigos?'' Goth turned to us with a smirk on his face. ''You both look ... a little pale.''  
  
''Uhhh- yeah...uhh... calling up the sound map is...uhh...exhausting,'' I said smiling nervously while thinking about a plan to get me and Shade the hell out of there. Goths approaching shadow didn't help much for that matter. Shade, however, nodded at my words and hopped a little away, pulling me with him.  
  
''Yeah, I'm gonna go to the stream for water.'' He was just about to grab my hands again with his feet as Goth stepped between us.

''Ah, but then why should señorita Vanessa go with you, amigo? Wouldn't it be quicker if you flew to the stream without her?''

_''Shit!'' _I thought with fear running down my spine. He must've sensed that we were about to flee or something. ''Ehm...well, I'll just go with him in case...he faints or something,'' I said hoping Goth would buy that and let us go but he didn't.

''In that case wouldn't it be better if I accompany you as well?'' he asked with a grin and I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

''Uhh- eh, ... sure why not.'' I said chuckling with fear.

Goth kept grinning down at us deviously and I could see in his eyes that he knew we were lying.  
''Should we go now or not? I thought you wanted to go to the stream for a drink?'' he asked acting friendly.

''O-of course it's just...,'' I gulped and thought about a plan for us to escape. Unfortunately, my brain didn't come up with any useful ideas.

''Just what?'' Goth asked.

''Oh, you know. I just thought maybe someone should stand back and ... uh ... wait in case Throbb returns or something.''

The Vampyrum raised an eyebrow at my suggestion. ''Why? The stream is right around that corner.''

''Sure, but ... uh ...''

''You know since it isn't that far. It isn't really necessary for you to come along. We will give you a call if something happens,'' Shade quickly said and went airborne with me grabbing his feet.

''We will make it quick,'' I said, smiling falsely at Goth and slightly squeezed Shade's ankle to urge him to hurry. At first, it seemed like the Vampyrum wanted to insist in escorting us, but to our luck, he just nodded and let us go without a word.  
Shade fluttered away in idle speed until we were out of sight and then ... dashed off as if stung by an adder and with me hanging on to him for dear life. Both of us not looking back even once.

* * *

Eventually, Shade had to stop on the nearest tree branch in order to catch his breath from flying so fast. ''I ... I can't believe it,'' he panted, the shock still stuck on his face, ''Goth, he ... they...''  
  
''I know,'' I said not feeling better myself. ''We can freak out later for all I care. But for now we need to find Marina. Remember Goth send Throbb after her.''  
  
Shade looked at me shaking. ''Vanessa, t-that bat ... it...it's wing ... that was a Brightwing.''  
  
''I know, but it wasn't Marina. Its color was completely different.''  
  
Shade thought about it then nodded finally calming down. ''Alright, then let's go and find her.''  
  
We continued to fly north, hoping to be on the right track to catch up with Marina before Throbb did and eventually spotted her flying around, just a few wingbeats ahead.  
Shade was about to dash towards her when I saw Goth's cousin flying over to Marina.

''Shade!''  
  
''Dang it!'' he cursed.  
  
''We have to do something,'' I said and watched Throbb blocking Marina's path with a hungry look in his eyes.  
Shade rushed to the closest tree and set me down on a branch. ''Wait here, I've got an idea,'' he said and left before I could even get a chance to ask what he was planning. Hiding behind leaves I watched Shade flying over to Throbb and Marina. Just in time to stop the chubby Vampyrum from biting the head off of our friend.  
  
''Throbb!''  
  
''Huh?'' Caught off guard, the carnivorous bat stopped in his actions and blinked a bit as he noticed the Silverwing.  
  
''Shade!'' Marina exclaimed, sounding just as surprised as Throbb.  
  
The young male casually flew over to them, as if nothing was wrong. ''Oh, hello Marina,'' he greeted her desultorily as if he hadn't expected to see her. ''Excuse me, but I'm here to speak to my good friend Throbb.''  
  
The giant meat-eater tilted his head in confusion, ''Huh?'' was all he said, but he followed Shade anyway to the nearest tree not too far from where I was with Marina following them.  
  
''Great news Throbb!'' Shade proclaimed, facing the giant bat. ''My colony just showed up. Goth sent me to get you.''

Marina seemed utterly perplexed. ''The Silverwings are here?'' she asked crouching down on the branch above.

Shade smirked, ''Ah yes. Thousands of them,'' he replied then furrowed his eyebrows. ''Hey, I thought you were heading back to the island. You should get going.''  
  
Marina stood back up glaring at him hatefully. ''I was happier when it was just me anyway,'' she snapped and flew off.  
  
''Finally,'' I heard Shade say after Marina had left, ''Goth told me that we will celebrate with a feast once she is gone. Let's go! He's waiting!'' Shade took off with a joyful looking spectral bat right behind him.  
  
''Excellente ...'' Throbb chuckled and overtook Shade to get back to Goth as fast as possible not realizing that the Silverwing stopped accompanying and instead flew back to where I was to pick me up and hurry after Marina.

* * *

After finishing his delicious meal of bat meat Goth flew a bit around and eventually landed on the stump of a cut-down tree. There he licked the dried blood from my claws while patiently waiting for the others to return. It didn't take long until he heard wings flapping and lazily looked up to see his cousin landing in front of me with a dumb grin on his face.  
  
''Where's the colony? I'm starving!''  
  
''Somewhere in the valley, I suspect,'' Goth replied with a shrug, ''Where are Shade and Vanessa?''  
  
Throbb blinked in confusion. ''Huh? Uh, I don't know where she is but Shade is right behind m-...'' He turned around and saw nothing but trees. ''But-but-but ... he said that you ... that the Silverwings ... a feast!''  
  
Goth gave out a slow sigh and walked up to his useless cousin. Sometimes he really couldn't believe he was related to that nuisance. ''How could you be tricked by such an inferior species?'' he asked. ''Your brain is in your stomach!'' Goth raised his claw in order to strike Throbb for his stupidly.  
  
The smaller Vampyrum cowered before him in fear, ''He-he can't be far! If we split up, we can...''  
  
Goth laughed darkly at his idea and lowered his claw before leaned over Throbb with a cruel smirk on his face. ''Unless your brain and your stomach have forgotten, Shade gave me the directions to the towers of fire.''  
  
''Ahhh…'' Throbb chuckled softly, ''Oh…''

* * *

''Hey! Wait up!'''

''Marina!''

The Brightwing looked over her shoulder to see us both struggling to follow her. I feared she would speed up to get rid of us but fortunately; she stopped instead and circled in place waiting for Shade to catch up.

''I'm sorry for earlier,'' he panted, ''You were right. Goth and Throbb don't just eat meat. They eat bats!''

Her eyes widen in shock hearing this. ''But your colony! You said...''

''That was just a trick to get Throbb away from you,'' I explained, ''Goth send him to kill you.''

Marina looked pale, ''No wonder he had that hungry look in his eyes.'' She shivered a bit.

''Come one, let's get away before they follow our trace,'' Shade said, and I totally agreed with him but then Marina gave out a sharp gasp stopped in mid-flight as if she just remembered something very important.

''The colony! Guys, Goth knows about the towers of fire!''

My eyes widened in shock realizing what that meant while Shade froze completely.

''No,'' he gasped, ''Oh no...no!''


	16. Orestes

''Hurry! We have to find my colony before Goth and Throbb do!'' Shade cried out, his voice filled with panic while flapping his wings as fast as he could, ''They'll all be eaten! It will all be my fault.''  
  
''But we don't even know where the fire towers are!'' Marina said, trying to reason with him. She was clearly worried about the Silverwings as much as I was. Though, we couldn't just run off into the blue without knowing where we needed to go at all.  
  
''Try your sound map again,'' she then suggested and Shade landed down on a nearby branch together with me and Marina. He closed his eyes and called up his sound map. He frowned, concentrating hard to see the needed information while placing a claw on his head. Just seconds later he reopened his eyes.  
  
''Now, did you see anything new?'' Marina asked frantically, ''Where there mountains? A river maybe?''  
  
''There were these other giant towers that led along the cut line'' Shade said, ''You know those places where the humans steal all the trees.''  
  
''Do you mean a road or something?'' I asked, kinda confused at what he was talking about.  
  
''Uh, I guess...'' Shade said, obviously not getting what I was talking about either.  
  
''Well, whatever it is. It shouldn't be too hard to find. Let's go!'' Marina said and plunged herself back into the air without waiting for a response. To my surprise, she grabbed my hands with her own feet this time instead of letting Shade carry me around like usual.  
The Silverwing seemed a bit perplexed about this too but didn't bother to say anything, so I said nothing. 

* * *

Just a few miles away from Vanessa and her two bat friends, a young adolescent great-horned owl covered with dark brown feathers on his body and long red feathers on his head, stood in front of a cobweb watching it curiously.  
Suddenly a small green spider crawled over the web towards the center and the young owl, filled with fascination just by looking at the arachnid, couldn't help himself but gently touched the web a bit with the tip of his wing to see what would happen. As a result, the web started to shake and startled the spider, causing it to jump straight onto the owl's face without a warning.  
  
Screaming in fear the young owl stumbled backward from the low branch he stood on and fell down onto his back. Luckily he didn't get hurt and quickly got back up again and shook his head to get the spider off of his beak. Right then he heard laughing and turned around to see two owl soldiers pointing and laughing at him after watching what happened.  
Feeling embarrassed, the young male looked down at his feet just as another owl flew down to them on top of the stump of a tree.  
Noticing it was no other than General Brutus himself, the laughing of the two owls quickly died down.  
  
''Lieutenant Atlas, report!'' the general commanded  
  
One owl, a male with white feathers, dark-colored wings and a black Fu Manchu-styled mustache over his beak stepped forward. ''General Brutus, we have a colony of Greywings pinned down in the west, but still no sign of the Silverwings.''  
  
Brutus nodded. ''Alright, then take two scouts and survey the eastern perimeter.''  
  
''Yes sir,'' Atlas bowed his head towards his general and was just about to leave when Brutus stopped him.  
  
''Oh, and take Orestes with you,'' he said.  
  
The young male looked up in shock at the mention of his name while Atlas seemed unsure what to say about this. ''But sir, ...I uhh...''  
  
''That's an order!'' Brutus commanded.  
  
''But father!'' Orestes protested, ''I can't go.''  
  
''Oh really?'' The general turned to his son, slightly glaring at him, ''Why?''  
  
''I'm not finished observing this arachnid,'' the young one tried to explain and pointed at the spider he encountered earlier and which was now hanging down from a thread right next to him.  
  
''We're at war, son! Stop acting like a nervous pigeon and do your duty!'' Brutus growled, his patience with his son slowly running low.  
  
''But-...but my wing still aches from yesterday's maneuvers!'' Orestes protested, holding his left wing like he was still in pain with it.  
  
Brutus merely rolled his eyes and threw his head back in agitation, ''Oh for the love of Phoenix!'' he exclaimed, ''What's next? Beak rot?!''  
  
''Father…please!'' Orestes pleaded.  
  
''Fine!'' Brutus growled. ''Go play with your insects then!''  
  
Atlas couldn't help but chuckle by those words. Though he quickly shut himself when noticing his commander glaring at him.  
With a deep sigh, Orestes turned around and walked away while Brutus and his soldiers flew off to continue scouting the forest. 

* * *

After flying for hours through this stupid forest, Goth's initial confidence started to wane, so he decided to take a short stop on a small clearing.  
Immediately Throbb looked around for food under a rock while his cousin tried to figure out if they were at least somewhat close to those so-called fire towers the runt had talked about earlier but it seemed they were lost.  
Goth growled as a moth fluttered past him and looked up into the sky trying to orientate himself, but that was impossible. Those sparkling dots in the sky were nothing like the once by his home.

The Jungle. Trying to make sense of them was just a complete waste of time and only exasperated him more.  
  
''Argh! I cannot understand these northern stars! There is no order to their constellations! I am sick of them!'' Goth clenched his fists tightly together while still looking up into the sky.  
  
Throbb swallowed the last bit of the mouse he just caught and turned back to him, ''Sick of the stars? Try eating these scrawny mice''  
  
''Why not stop?''   
  
''Because you can't eat just one!'' Throbb replied and belched loudly in Goth's direction. ''Just try, it's impossible.''  
  
The grin on his face quickly disappeared as Goth roughly grabbed a fistful of his fur beneath his throat. ''If you weren't my primo, I would have eaten you a week ago,'' He pulled him closer glaring at him. ''Then at least one of us would have enough energy to make it back to our beloved jungle.''  
  
Throbb chuckled nervously and averted his eyes, ''Yeah, maybe I'll just go get some more mice…''  
  
''Nevermind the mice,'' Goth let go of Throbb and let him drop on the ground, ''Soon you will feast on Silverwings, mi amigo. That little show off Shade told me about his colony's next stop. Fire towers.''  
  
''But-...how will we find them?''  
  
Throbb's question was valid, but then Goth looked ahead and grinned with satisfaction.  
''Zotz helps those who help themselves.'' He chuckled and pointed into the direction behind his cousin who then turned around to see a large area without trees. Instead, there was a long empty path with strange poles constructed by humans and connected to each other which lead towards a large glowing area in the distance.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mercury flew over to Frieda's side, having noticed the exhausting running through almost every bat in the colony from their nonstop flight.  
''Frieda,'' he said with concern, ''even the stronger fliers are beginning to tire. We need to roost.''  
  
The elder knew well about her colonies suffering and wished she could stop and rest her tired old bones as well, but she was also aware of any possible danger. ''An unknown refuge could spell certain doom. We will have to wait to roost until we get to the fire towers.''  
  
Mercury nodded, trusting her judgment and continued to fly by her side with the rest of the Silverwings huffing and puffing behind them.

* * *

My friends and I kept flying around for quite a while, but the so-called fire towers were still nowhere in sight.  
  
''Maybe I was wrong?'' Shade said, looking crestfallen, and I too was beginning to lose hope. Just then I notice something below us in the fog and as it cleared out I saw a long road with a line of utility poles. With a gasp, I realized what that meant.

''Hey guys, over there!'' I called out and pointed down towards the road with my foot and heard them both sighing in relief as they spotted it as well.  
  
''That must be it. Let's go!'' Marina said. She was just about to speed up a little when a sudden shriek of distressed hit us unexpectedly.  
  
''What the...?'' I looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.  
  
''Help! Help!''  
  
''Somebody's in trouble!'' Marina gasped, ''We should check it out.''  
  
I looked up and saw Shade furrowing his brows. ''That sounded like a bird,'' he said and turned his face away in disgust. Obviously not happy with his reaction Marina let out a huff and grabbed my hands tighter before diving back down into the forest leaving the Silverwing behind.  
  
''Hey! Hang on...'' he called out and hurried after us.  
  
Soon after we reached the source of the terrified cries and found a young horned-owl, all tangled up in a net set up by my kind.  
I felt bad for the bird for getting caught into that trap that hung there between two trees and wondered how we could help him get back out.  
  
Struggling desperately the owl turned around as much as he could and eventually noticed us.  
He looked at us pleadingly and begged for assistance, ''Help, I'm strangling here. Please, I never hurt a bat in all my life. I'm practically a vegetarian!''  
  
''Liar!'' Shade snapped and pointed at the poor bird, causing him to flinch back.  
  
''Shade,'' Marina hushed him but the Silverwing just huffed and roosted upside down on one string which bound the net to the trees.  
  
''Come on, we have to help,'' I said, trying to reason with Shade. ''Who knows if that's a poacher's net? He might die if we leave him here like that.''  
  
The young owl gulped, hearing me say this.  
  
Shade scoffed, ''So? Who cares?! He's an owl.''  
  
Hearing this, the owl shut his eyes and trembled a bit like he was about to cry.  
  
''Do you seriously want to leave him to his fate just because he is an owl?!'' I asked and glared at Shade.  
  
Marina was also upset with Shade's attitude and frowned at him as well. ''Nice to see Zephyr's lesson with the pigeon had an impact on you.''  
  
''Lesson?'' he asked.  
  
''You know, never underestimate the power of a kind act, even towards one's enemy.''  
  
The Silverwing looked away, grumbling a bit to himself and crossed his arms before his chest.  
I shook my head watching him then turned to Marina, wondering if she had an idea on how we could free the owl.  
  
''Hey...,'' she suddenly said, ''This is the same kind of net the humans used when they banded me!''  
  
''It is?'' I asked looking at her.  
  
She nodded. ''Yeah! All we need to do is spread it open.''  
  
''Sounds good but how should we do that?''  
  
Marina fluttered around, studying the net a bit more. ''That's it.'' she finally said and pointed at the strings, ''You grab one of those as hard as you can and I pull by holding you by the legs.''  
  
''Eh, okay,'' I said, though not quite liking the idea of dangling upside down in the air.  
  
The Brightwing first landed me on a branch, so I could have my hands free and then grabbed my feet with her own and flew back to the net. I gulped, trying my best to stay calm and focused on grabbing a string on the bottom of the net while also hoping that Marina wouldn't let go of me.  
To my delight, Shade decided to help after all and started to pull the other string with his feet.  
  
We tug on it as hard as we could, but the net just stretched and stretched, not opening even one bit.  
_''This isn't going to work.'' _I thought with my hands starting to hurt.  
  
''Are you sure you know what you are-'' the young owl began to say just when suddenly Shade and I let go of the strings, causing the bird to get shot out from the net like a slingshot, ''DOOOOIIINNNGGGG!!!'' He did a few backflips through the air until he crash-landed on a tree and lost consciousness on a branch.  
  
_''Ouch!'' _That must have hurt.  
  
We quickly flew over to see if the owl was alright and landed in front of him on the branch.  
Shade tore off of a twig and began poking the bird with it.  
  
''What are you doing?'' I asked looking at him with displeasure.  
  
''I'm just checking to see if he's okay,'' Shade said.

''Not like that! You...'' Just then I hear a moan and turned around to see the owl blinking his eyes open. I smiled watching him wake up but then got confused when he let out a gasp with his eyes widened in fear.  
  
''Hey, it's okay we are not...'' The sudden sound of wings rustling right behind us froze the blood in my veins. Slowly, me and my friends turned around just to see three adult owl soldiers glaring down on us from a higher branch. Shade chuckled nervously, still pointing his twig at the young owl. This certainly did not make a good impression.  
  
''Eh, this is not what it looks like,'' I said trying to save the situation, but I knew for sure. We were doomed.

* * *

As expected, the owls captured us and brought us to a clearing in a different part of the forest. There they held us captive by two more owls, one of them being no other than General Brutus himself.  
  
''You again lawbreakers?'' he growled while staring down on me and Shade then looked at Marina. ''I see you've brought your friend.You don't quit do you?!''  
  
''We didn't do anything!'' Shade protested, ''We were trying to help this runty owl!'' He pointed at the smaller owl, who stood uncomfortably next to the General.  
  
''That ''runty'' owl is my son, Orestes!'' Brutus retorted.  
  
Now that he said it I finally noticed that the owl we saved had the same striped markings on his wings like the General but besides that, there didn't seem to be much resemblance between the two of them.  
Just then a small green spider lowered itself down right next to Orestes, who shrieked out in alarm as soon as he saw it. I pressed my lips tight together, trying my best not to giggle at the scene.  
  
''We stopped to help him!'' Marina replied, trying to reason with Brutus, ''He was caught in a trap-''  
  
''Enough Brightwing!'' he thundered, interrupting her and spread out his wings. ''You'll soon regret you ever joined up with these-these... pipe-sized, owl killing barbarians.''  
_  
''Say what?''_  
  
''Barbarians?'' Shade asked in disbelieve and pointed at Brutus. ''You burnt down Tree Haven! And we're not killing owls, Goth and Throbb are! They're giant bats from the jungle down south!''  
  
Obviously not believing his words, the owl General rolled his giant yellow eyes with a smirk. ''Oh, yes,'' he said sarcastically, ''The giant meat-eating bats.''  
  
''Actually, they're cannibals,'' Shade said.  
  
''So, now they're cannibals,'' Brutus repeated, playing along.  
  
I frowned. This was pointless there was no way he would believe us without proof.  
  
''If we were owl killers, would we have saved your son?'' Marina now said and to our surprise, Orestes spoke up to our defense.

''Father, they did save me.''  
  
''Quit defending them, boy!'' Brutus snapped at him.  
  
''You never listen to me!'' Orestes exclaimed, unfurling his wings. I felt bad for him for having a father like that. But at the same time, I was happy to notice that he seemed so much different from the stern general who, as expected, ignored his son and turned his attention back to us.  
  
''Tell me where Frieda has your colony stopping next,'' he demanded to know and leaned his head down to Shade.

''I don't know,'' he replied half-lying.  
  
''Very well,'' Brutus replied calmly as if he had just expected such an answer coming from him.  
He then lifted his head and faced his owl soldiers. ''Lock them up!'' he commanded.  
  
''Yes sir,'' one of them replied.  
  
''Orestes and I need time...to think of the most excruciatingly painful way to loosen their tongues.''  
  
I gasped hearing this and then felt myself getting painfully picked up by my hair and my hood while my friends were also roughly dragged away by the scruffs of their fur.

* * *

Soon after we found ourselves being looked up in a hollow tree with thick twigs blocking the way out and an owl soldier guarding the entrance. I let out a sigh and sat down on the floor with my back leaning against the wood while rubbing my head a bit after that painful endurance earlier.  
I surely did not want to know what Brutus had in mind to make us talk in order to give him the answers he wanted to hear.  
  
Shade bared his fangs while clenching his fists, ''If we hadn't saved that owl, this would have never happened!'' he said.  
  
''We did the right thing,'' Marina insisted with her arms crossed, ''If we ignored Orestes, he'd be dead! And we'd all feel terrible.''  
  
I sighed once more, knowing well she was right but right now it didn't matter at all. What we needed was a plan to escape. Unfortunately, that seemed to be an impossible task.

* * *

A little further away, the Silverwing colony had eventually stopped to rest and hunt.

One of them, the elder Bathsheba caught a small tiger moth with her jaws and gulped it down before flying over to Frieda who was roosting on a tree.  
  
''Hello, Bathsheba,'' the chief elder greeted her politely. ''Full already?''  
  
''Let me tell you it wasn't easy with this low mosquito count,'' the old bat grumbled, although she just caught a rather good catch, ''Your choices are starving the colony! Honestly Frieda, what are you thinking?''  
  
Frieda glared at Bathsheba but before she could say something Mercury flew over them.  
''Do you hear the dawn chorus? We have to go now or decide to roost.''  
  
Looking up at the brightening sky Frieda let out a heavy sigh. ''Alright,'' she said tiredly. ''Prepare to leave.''  
  
Mercury nodded and flew off to alert the colony of their leader's decision, while Bathsheba just shook her head and flew off, growling a bit to herself.

* * *

Still, in our cell, Marina and Shade sat down next to me on the floor while we awaited our gruesome fate. Just then I heard talking outside and wondered what was going on when suddenly Orestes head peaked into our cell.

''Psst, You three!'' he whispered, trying to get our attention. ''You want to get out of here?''  
  
Shade frowned distrustfully, ''Uh, no thanks.''  
  
''Say what?'' I asked while Marina looking at him with disbelief.  
  
''Don't you two get it?'' Shade said angrily, ''The minute he lets us out, he cries for help, we get torn to shreds, and he gets a medal!''  
  
Orestes looked hurt by Shades accusations and turned around as if he were about to leave.  
  
''Wait!'' Marina said trying to stop him, ''Why would you let us go? Your father would kill you.''  
  
The young owl narrowed his eyes bitterly. ''My dad wouldn't care if I was dead anyway. All he cares about is this stupid war!''  
  
''You got that right,'' Shade went up to the bars and gripped them tightly with his hands, ''That guy's out of control! He's a maniac! He's...he's a warmongering lunatic! He's a-....'' I cleared my throat to interrupt him and nodded towards Orestes who hung his head down in shame.  
''Oh ... sorry. Eh, would you mind opening that latch for us?''  
  
Orestes looked around to be sure nobody was around then unlocked the cell with his foot.  
With a sigh of relief, we quickly went out. ''Thanks,'' Marina said, smiling up at Orestes who happily smiled back.  
  
''Okay, let's get out of here now!'' Shade said, wanting to leave as quickly as possible.  
  
''And go where?'' Marina asked.  
  
''To the fire towers,'' he reminded her.  
  
''But we don't know where they are. We don't even know where we are.''  
  
She was right, but we also couldn't stay here for much longer, or we would get spotted.  
  
''Hey! I know where that is,'' Orestes exclaimed happily.  
  
''You do?'' I asked, looking at him in surprise.  
  
''If by that you mean the electrical power relay station constructed by some of your kind?'' he replied leaving me quite speechless.  
  
''Uh, I guess ... Can you tell us how to get there?''  
  
''It will be quicker if I took you there. Come on!'' Orestes flew up, leaving us no choice but to follow him. 


	17. Chase of Death

''Goth... Are We There Yet?'' Throbb whining for the dozenth time, ''Can you see the towers of fire? I am so tired of all this flying!''  
  
Goth rolled his eyes and glared at him over his shoulder. ''If we were there, would we still be flying?''  
  
''The cold... I am sure it is slowing my wings. And I am so hungry, I could eat a moth!,'' Throbb paused, thinking a bit, ''Maybe... two moths.''  
  
The bigger Vampyrum laughed scornfully, ''That is so sad. Especially since we will soon be dining at the Silverwing buffet.''  
  
''Buffet?,'' Throbb was thrilled, ''As in...dining without limits?'' Seconds later he chuckled with delight and licked his tongue over his lips. ''Excelente.''  
  
Not long after did they finally reach the place of the fire towers. It was a complex variety of human-made buildings with a giant fence surrounding the area. Probably in order to keep others away from this place. All around was the crackling sound of electricity.  
  
Goth and Throbb landed on top the roof of a wooden shed that stood just a meter away from this place and began sniffing around for small juicy northern bats.  
Crouching down Goth easily tore off a piece of the roof tile and took a short peek inside. It was empty.  
  
''Not so fast,'' he said, stopping his cousin from pulling off another tile.  
  
''Huh?''  
  
''It looks like dinner has not yet arrived,'' Goth looked up and scanned the skies, wondering where the Silverwings could be.

* * *

''And the electricity is generated at the dam, that's called hydro-electrical power. And then it's relayed here to-''  
  
''Can we lose the science lesson, please?'' Shade begged while trying his best to keep up with Marina and Orestes. He was laboriously flapping his wings not looking one bit interested in anything the young owl told us about.  
I for one was fairly impressed at all the information Orestes blurted out about my kind the closer we got to the power relay station. How on earth could a bird like him know about all this stuff? Not even I was familiar with any of this.  
  
''Orestes is just trying to be nice Shade,'' Marina scolded him, unhappy about his rudeness.  
  
''Goth and Throbb know about the soundmap!,'' he reminded us, his voice sounding desperate, ''My colony is there! We have to fly faster!''  
  
I sighed, knowing very well that he was right. We didn't have time for a leisurely flight around. We had to reach the landmark and warn the Silverwings. Hopefully, we did not come too late.

* * *

Meanwhile, not long after the three animals and their human companion had left, the owls took notice of their disappearance and informed General Brutus who was less than happy about it.  
  
''You're saying our prisoners disappeared with Orestes?!'' he growled while pacing back and forth on the fallen tree before the open prison cell, glaring down on Atlas and the soldier who was supposed to be guarding the outlaws.  
  
''Well, ...,'' the soldier said carefully, feeling slightly afraid, ''Disappeared may not be the-''  
  
''Are you proposing that those puny perpetrators have kidnapped Orestes?!'' Brutus whirled around, now shouting with fury.  
  
''Uhm, ...'' seeking help the soldiers turned to Atlas, who nodded and spoke in his turn.

''Yes sir, That is what it appears to have happened.''  
  
''Now it’s personal!'' the general bellowed, ''That bat will regret the day he first took wing and that human ..., ''his face darkened, ''I knew one of those would bring doom into the order of life. She needs to be punished together with all the unlucky fellows she calls to be her friends. I shall show no mercy.'' He turned to his second in command. ''Lieutenant Atlas, are those Greywings still in your capture?''  
  
''They are traveling eastward towards the mountains but my men are watching them closely, not leaving them out of their sight even once like you ordered.''  
  
Brutus nodded, ''Good ... then act out operation retributive justice.''  
  
Atlas hesitated for a moment but seeing the determined look in his general's eyes he knew he would not back down from his words. ''Of course sir. It shall be done right away,'' He said and bowed respectfully.

With this settled Brutus turned his attention back to the other owl soldier and glared down on him coldly, causing him to flinch back.

''And you ... You pathetic excuse for a guard. You will take the criminals place in prison while I decide your fate!''  
  
The guard gulped and lowered his head, shaking with fear.

* * *

Slowly but certainly Goth started to get tired of waiting for his meal to arrive. Especially now that the wind had increased and blew dead leaves around with its ice-cold air, making me shiver. Just like Throbb, who was also chattering with his teeth

_''¡Maldito sea este lugar!'' _ Goth wrapped his large wings tighter around his body but it didn't help much. He was still freezing. ''I can be hungry or cold, not both. I say we roost.'' And with that he squeezed himself through the hole he tore into the roof and crouched down on one of the wooden beams underneath. Throbb followed right after, but thanks to his potbelly he got stuck halfway through. Honestly, why did he had to travel with this idiot again?  
  
Throbb grunted and wiggled around, trying to fit through the hole. But then he seemed to have noticed something.  
''Goth! On the horizon!'' Not letting him finish Goth roosted upside down to grab his cousins leg with his hands to pull him roughly inside the shed.  
With two strong tugs, Throbb slipped through the roof and landed hard onto the floor and on his back.  
  
''I think dinner's on the way, ''he groaned lifting his head, ''Two small bats and an owl.'' He then fell back down and lost consciousness.  
  
''Hmm…tapas,'' Goth said and chuckled darkly.

* * *

Soon me and my friends landed onto the roof of the shed outside of the power station. Marina and Shade were panting heavily from the exhausting long but quick flight.  
It once again made me feel bad that they had to carry me along the way, but I was also just glad to have some kind of ground back under my feet instead of free air.  
  
''This looks like an entrance,'' Marina said and crawled over to a hole in the roof.  
Shade and I crawled after her when the Silverwing abruptly stopped and started sniffing the air.

''Huh?''  
  
''Something wrong Shade?'' I asked looking at him, while Orestes looked fascinated at the power station, not having noticed anything odd just yet.  
  
''Something doesn’t smell right…'' Shade furrowed his brows and looked around with concern.  
  
I wondered what he was talking about and closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on my surroundings. Being a human, my smelling and hearing weren't as good as a bat's, but maybe I could still sense something notably. The atmosphere itself indeed felt portentous.  
  
Marina decided to take a look into the shed and peaked her head inside the darkness. Seconds later she jumped back up again with a frightened gasp, causing Shade, Orestes and I to cry out in fright.  
Then I got up in order to see what scared her but the tiles beneath my feet began to crack dangerously. Eyes widen I spread out my arms, trying to keep my balance on the wood.  
  
Wondering what's going on Orestes flew over and before I could stop him, he landed onto the wood, causing it to break thanks to his weight, dropping us all inside, screaming.   
  
''Ouch!'' I exclaimed as I landed painfully on the ground, face downward. My chest, arms and knees hurt from the impact but it didn't feel like I had broken anything. Luckily. Though I felt a bruise on my chin which even bled a little. But besides that I was okay.  
  
Groaning in pain my friends began to get back up as well when the dust cleared and a shadow moved closer to us.  
Looking up, I gasped seeing it was Goth who hovered over us with an evil grin on his face.  
He looked at every one of us until his eyes landed on Orestes. The poor young owl looked terrified at the sight of the giant bat right in front of him. He tried to move away but Goth simply stepped onto his tail feathers, holding him in place.

Another groan of pain came from the other end of the shed. Looking over I saw Throbb slowly waking up while also lying on the floor and wondered what had happened to him.

Goth, however, ignored his cousin and instead turned his attention towards me and Shade.  
Grinning with pleasure he spread open his wings as if greeting old friends after a long time.  
''Señorita! Shade! Mios amigos. You remembered how I enjoy owl?'' He turned his face back to Orestes, glaring down at him threateningly. ''Maybe that should be my first course tonight.''  
  
Orestes's yellow eyes widen in horror, but then he gathered his courage together and quickly bit down on Goths foot, causing the Vampyrum to cry out in pain and grabbing his foot tightly in his hands, releasing the owl.  
Wasting no time Orestes fled out of the shed through the broken ceiling. But before we could follow him Goth let go of his foot, looking pissed and swiped his claws down at us without warning, causing Shade, Marina and I to quickly dodge out of his reach.  
  
Instantaneously, Shade hurried up to the ceiling while Marina hovered above me, wanting to grab my hands with her feet. But before she could get me Goth slipped in front of her and blocked the way to the exit.  
  
_''Just great what now?''_ I frantically looked around, searching for something helpful when Shade dashed out of the shed causing Goth to react like any predator would do and raced after him.

''Quick! Try to get out of here!'' Marina hissed and pushed me into the shadows before yelling at Goth: ''You want a piece of me, you big dumb bat?! Well come and get it!''

Had she lost her mind? And how the hell was I supposed to get out of here?

Like expected Goth did not back down from her challenge and sank back down into the shed with a sinister chuckle.

Thunder growled outside and for a moment the room got enlighten by lighting flashing inside from behind the glass window in the door. I desperately looked around for a way to escape and eventually spotted a broom leaning against a wall at the other end of the shed. If I could manage to get there without the Cannibal noticing, I could possibly climb up the broomstick towards the shelve, hanging close to it and from there try climbing over the wooden beams towards the exit and out of the shed. Unfortunately, Goth's must have sensed something was odd and turned around just when I was about to sneak over to the broom.

''Now, where do we think we are going Señorita?'' He chuckled darkly and walked closer to me.

Not thinking twice I rushed over to the broom, but the Vampyrum overtook me with ease and swooped in my way. I took a sharp break and spun around on my heels. Now running into the other direction. Again Goth blocked my path and once more I was forced to change directions. Hearing him laughing I knew he was playing with me like a cat plays with a mouse. He could have easily just snatched me with his sharp claws but instead kept chasing me across the shed until I would eventually succumb to my exhaustion.

Marina wanted to help me but whenever she tried to get closer, she had to move away in order to avoid Goths claws and teeth.

This was torture. I had never been a persistent runner before and if it weren't for the current adrenalin rush, I would have probably already stopped by now but I didn't. It would have meant my end if I did. Nevertheless, with the growing pain in my chest, it was just a matter of time until my body would give up.

Suddenly, the Vampyrum got caught off guard as Shade flew back into the shed, smacking a wing against his face. Goth growled with fury and struck down at him but the Silverwing quickly dodged his claw and rushed back to the ceiling, but not without picking me up by my hands in his feet first.

Not wanting us to escape, Goth lost no time and followed us on the spot.  
He burst through the opening in the ceiling, causing bits and pieces flying through the air, making the hole in the roof even bigger. Shade struggled to avoid the debris but one of it hit me on the back causing me to yell out in pain.

''Oh, such a strong one!'' I heard Goth laughing behind us, obviously enjoying the scene.

* * *

Meanwhile, Frieda, Mercury and the other Silverwings were approaching the fire towers to take a rest from their long flight. Noticing something odd the messenger flew a little further ahead, thinking he had seen something on top of one of the electricity poles.  
  
Right then a warning screech filled the air and Mercury immediately turned around to warn his leader.  
  
''Frieda, owl dead ahead!'' he said in alarm, ''We can't land at the power station.''  
  
The chief elder acted straightaway: ''Silverwings, hard bank, southeast. Now!''

And with that, every bat turned around and changed direction. Escaping their doom.

* * *

Shade zigzagged around the shed. Trying his best to avoid getting himself or me snatched in Goth's jaws. I clung onto his feet for dear life and squeezed his ankles to make him go even faster not wanting to know what would happen if the cannibal got us.

''Shade! Vanessa!'' Marina yelled over to us, circling before the shed. ''Throbb's trapped. Do you need me?''

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed a figure on the roof struggling to squeeze his body through an opening between the tiles.

''No!'' Shade yelled back at her, ''Go hide!'' I was sure he actually wanted to hand me over to Marina but with Goth right behind us, there was the risk that he would catch either of us at it.

''Shade, the power station! We may lose him in there!''

The Silverwing followed my advice and flew over the fence that surrounded the area. It was a suicidal task, hanging around an electrical power station during an approaching thunderstorm but right now we had worse things to worry about.

''Faster!'' I urged and looked over my shoulder. To my horror, Goth was still chasing us. Hardly a meter away. And he got closer. Not much longer and he would eventually reach us and then ... ''Watch out!!!''

The Silverwing barely avoided getting struck by a lightning bolt as it hit into the factory, sending sparks flying everywhere. Again looking back I saw Goth still behind us. Not looking tired one bit.  
Unfortunately, Shade was getting tired. His wingbeats got slower, and he was panting heavily.  
_''Keep going. Don't give up now, please!''_ Even though I was not a religious person I send out silent prayers for our safety. Not caring what kind of ethereal being would come to our aid.  
Taking a sharp turn around a pole Goth nearly grasped my cloak with his sharp teeth but the fabric slipped out of his reach just in time.

Shade kept on zigzagging and circling around the poles and wires. Eventually, I couldn't see the Vampyrum behind us anymore. Thinking we lost him Shade stopped on one of the metal conductors to catch his breath. In the meantime I stood close to the metal pole, fearfully looking around.  
So far everything seemed fine, so I allowed myself to take a deep breath. But then I got an odd feeling like something was watching us. Slowly I turned my head around only to see razor-sharp teeth charging right at me.

Just in time, Shade quickly pushed me out of the way before Goth could bite my face off and took flight. I wanted to jump over to him like an aerial acrobat, clearly not thinking about my high anxiety, but a clawed hand suddenly grasped my wrist and pulled me roughly back onto the conductor.

Thunder rolled again and in the light of another lightning, I saw Goth looking down at me with a despiteful smirk on his face. I had no idea what to do besides trying to rip my arm free just to let Goth snatch it right back and dig his sharp teeth painfully into my skin.

I screamed but more of the shock than of the pain. However, Goth didn't let go. Even though I struggled wildly in his grip and also punched him on the muzzle.  
He was just chuckling as if it was nothing more than a game.  
Getting furious I tried kicking him in the gut and started scratching his face with my other hand. Still, he refused to let go of me and instead bit down even harder.  
''Aaahhh!!'' I screamed yet again and then bit down hard on Goth's ear, causing the Vampyrum to finally back off in surprise. Definitely not having expected such move coming from an ordinary human.

Clenching my wounded arm to my chest I took a step back without looking and almost cried out again as I slipped and fell off the metal. Fortunately, I was caught by Shade before I could hit the ground and let him carry me with his feet through the factory premise.

''Are you alright?'' he asked worriedly.

''Yeah, don't worry just fly!''

He nodded and took on speed while I tried my best to ignore the crucial pain in my left arm, not even daring to look at it right now.  
Suddenly Shade yelped as he got struck down by Goth unexpectedly. I just barely kept hold on to him while the giant bat dove after us, chuckling evilly. Luckily Shade managed to get his senses back on time and flew into a tunnel of metal pipes, again followed by Goth.

Looking behind me I gasped seeing him getting closer with his jaws open wide.  
Just in time, I pulled up my feet before the Vampyrum could sink his fangs into them and then looked back in confusion, hearing metal scratching on metal.  
Goth's bronze metal band was grazing against one of the pipes, making it spark up with light.

Seconds later we flew out of the tunnel with the metal fence right in front of us. At that moment a lightning bolt struck into it, causing electricity to surge throughout it and an idea popped up in my mind. It was probably a very stupid idea but what other option had we left?  
  
''Shade, fly closer to the fence over there!'' I said, pointing with my feet towards the wall of metal that was crackling with voltage.  
  
''What?'' he asked with shock, ''Are you crazy?''  
  
''Trust me. We have to lead Goth there,'' I insisted not wanting to discuss this right now.

''But...'' he sighed ''Alright, but hang on!''

I nodded as he gained up speed and headed towards the metal fence. Like expected Goth followed us without question.

Almost there, I looked back at Goth and smirked. ''Hey, stupid head. What's taking you so long? We are right here.''

By the sound of his furious growl, I was sure I was about to get killed. No matter if my plan would work or not. I urged Shade to fly faster as Goth got dangerously nearer. Then just when he turned to fly over the fence I looked back, blew a raspberry at Goth and let go off Shade's feet.  
Before the Silverwing could even realize what was going on, I was already falling through the gap between the charged fence bars. Curled into a ball so I wouldn't touch the metal.

Goth, however, was not so lucky.  
Blinded with wrath he didn't look where he was going and dove right after me, ramming straight into the electrified metal, touching it with his own metal band. Immediately he got shocked by the voltage, causing him to scream in agony  
Bursting in flames, Goth got sent off into the forest with smoke trailing behind him, still screaming until his body fell down to the ground.

I also landed hard on the floor and tumbled over the grass. Eventually, I stopped and sat up on my knees, feeling extremely sick and lightheaded.  
Like wrapped in cotton wool I heard Throbb wailing in the distance and assumed that Goth was definitely not in a good shape.  
  
Rain began to pour down, and I started looking around wondering where Shade, Marina and Orestes were. I tried to stand up but my legs felt like jellybeans, so I plopped back down again. I hissed feeling pain and looked at my left hand. It looked horrible. Almost my entire hand was covered in blood with deep teeth marks on my skin. Examining it closer I could even lift a piece of my skin, flesh included, that nearly got bitten off. It was shocking and made me feel even sicker now.

At the sound of soft gasps, I turned my head around as well as I could and watched my friends looking over the edge of a small hill with fume ascending from it. I wanted to call out their names, but the world around me began to turn dark and seconds later I blacked out. 


	18. Safe traveling?

Shade let out a deep sigh at the sight of Goth's charred and tattered body all sprawled out on the ground. He looked badly burned with deep holes in the membrane of his wings and wads of smoke rising from his body.  
  
''It's over Shade,'' Marina whispered while putting a hand on his shoulder, but he shook his head.  
  
''No,'' he softly replied, ''It just began.'' He just knew it. He didn't know why, but this here ... this wasn't the end. It was far from it.  
  
Shade turned away, not wanting to look at the dead Vampyrum any longer. His colony was safe now. Still, they're the owls, but at least they didn't have to worry about Goth anymore. Though, he kinda wished they had gone rid of him differently. He didn't believe that even someone like him deserved such an end like this.  
Hearing Throbb's mournful cries in the close distance Shade decided it would be better to move on away from here. Not that he attacked them to avenge his cousin or something.  
  
''Come on guys, let's leave!'' he said and was just about to lift off when Marina stopped him.  
  
''Wait, Shade! Where is Vanessa?''  
  
''Huh?'' he looked around. She was right. Their human friend was nowhere to see. Thereby he was sure she had been with me the whole time.  
  
''I hope nothing happened to her,'' Orestes said worriedly and looked around, trying to spot her somewhere.  
  
Marina looked at Shade reproachfully, ''I thought you would take care of her Shade.''  
  
''I'm sorry,'' he exculpated myself, ''Everything happened so fast. I didn't notice her letting go of me. I thought she was still with me.''  
  
Marina looked around, her face filled with worry. ''What if she got electrified as well? What if she is lying somewhere, is hurt or even dead?''  
  
Shade was shocked. How could she even think of something like this?  
  
''Vanessa is not dead,'' he insisted, ''She is doing fine. I'm sure of it. She is probably just hiding somewhere or something.'' He searched around hoping to find his human friend when Orestes suddenly called out for them.  
  
''Marina! Shade! I think I found her.'' He pointed with his wingtip to a motionless body, lying only a few wingbeats away from us in the grass. The young Silverwing let out a sigh in relief, quickly recognizing Vanessa and flew over to her followed by Marina and Orestes.  
There, he knelt down beside her and gently shook her shoulder in order to try waking her up but nothing happened.  
  
''What's wrong with her?'' Marina asked.  
  
''I don't know.'' Shade shook her again, more wildly this time. Still, no reaction. _''She is not dead. She can't be.''_ ''Vanessa!'' Slowly he could feel panic raising inside him and began blaming himself for not having paid more attention to her as they flew over the fence. How could he even have lost her? Did she lose her grip and fell into the fence? No, she didn't look burned. Why didn't he check if she was still clinging to his feet?

Seeking help he turned to Marina. Seeing her looking shocked and distressed with tears shimmering in her eyes. ''Shade, is she...?''  
  
He shook my head, shutting his eyes tightly to hold back his own tears. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. He did not want to believe that Vanessa just sacrificed herself to save them from Goth. Just no. No!  
  
''Hey, guys. I think she is still alive!'' Wiping his tears off with the back of his hand Shade glanced up to see Orestes putting the tip of his wing on Vanessa's neck right under her chin. ''She still has a pulse. It's weak though, but it's there. And look she also still breathing.'' He pointed to a bunch of small grass stalks right under Vanessa's nose. I looked closer and noticed they were moving a little. Actuated by her soft breaths.  
  
''Thanks Nocturna, she's okay,'' Marina let out a sigh sounding more than relieved. Shade too was relieved, but then he noticed her hand and gasped seeing the blood on it.  
  
''Oh no. She is hurt,'' Orestes gasped. Having noticed it as well.  
  
''What happened to her?''  
  
Shade carefully picked up her wounded arm and inspected it closer. The bleeding seemed to have already stopped, and the rain had also washed most of it off. However, the skin looked torn with deep tooth marks in it. ''Goth must have bitten her.'' He frowned. Maybe it was good that he had died the way he did. He had nearly bitten her hand off.  
  
Marina growled softly, probably thinking the same. ''We have to take care of her wound,'' she said and flew off to look for some healing herbs.  
  
''I know of something that could help,'' Orestes lifts off as well and quickly returned with a bundle of long dark green leaves. ''Here,'' he said, offering them to me, ''Maybe we could use those to bandage her arm with.''

Shade smiled at him thankfully and took the leaves from him. Just then Marina returned as well with some red berries in her claws. He quickly recognized them as the same berries Zephyr had used when treating the tear on his wing. Like him, she squished them into a paste and carefully smeared it onto Vanessa's injury. Afterward, Shade used the leaves Orestes gave him and bandaged her arm to make sure the poultice wouldn't fall off and for her arm to heal better.  
  
''That should do it,'' he said.  
  
''We should get her out of the rain,'' Marina suggested and Shade nodded in agreement with his fur already soaking wet and dripping.  
  
With Orestes help, they managed to take Vanessa over to a hollow tree and carefully laid her down inside on some moss. Since it was close to dawn the two bats quickly decided to take this place as their roost for the day. Unfortunately, it wasn't big enough for Orestes to get inside too, but the young owl didn't seem to mind about it anyway.  
  
''That's alright,'' he said with a smile. ''I should head back now anyway. My dad is probably wondering where I am by now.''  
  
''You think he may be worried about you?'' Marina asked.  
  
Orestes sighed, shaking his head. ''Nah, he is more likely thinking I'm looking for some bugs or something.''  
  
''Oh, ...''  
  
''Well then, thank you for everything Orestes. I owe you one,'' Shade said, changing the subject and smiled at him.  
  
''No problem,'' he replied smiling back, ''It was a pleasure for me to help you. And to even meet you guys as well.''  
  
''We are glad to have met you as well Orestes,'' Marina said happily.  
Shade nodded in agreement. He couldn't have said it any better himself.

  
The young horned owl made himself ready to go and took one last glance over to Vanessa. ''I never thought I would ever meet a human,'' he said softly, ''I hope she will wake up again soon.''  
  
''Don't worry. I'm sure she will,'' Shade assured him, feeling confident about it.  
  
He nodded. ''Alright. Goodbye then. Maybe someday we will see each other again.''  
  
''That would be great,'' Shade replied and together with Marina he watched him fly off until they couldn't see him anymore. Then they went to roost and closed their eyes in order to get some sleep.

* * *

A few miles away from the three friends and the fire towers, the Silverwings choose to roost in a hollow pine tree.  
  
Bathsheba, being one of those who did not feel sleepy yet, decided now would be a good time to hold a serious meeting with the other elders and Ariel.  
Chinook hung also with them, even though he was a just newborn and therefore too young to be included. However, under the present circumstances, it didn't matter for Frieda. And Lucretia and Aurora were also okay with it. They had bigger problems to care about at the moment.  
Only Bathsheba thought it was outrageous, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she immediately started the discussion with an, for her, urgent message:  
  
''Frieda,'' she said, ''I think I speak for the entire colony when I say these roosting conditions are unacceptable.''  
  
Chinook huffed and glared at the elder. ''You don't speak for me,'' he said. Slowly but surely he was getting tired of her constantly putting down Frieda's decisions.  
  
''Chinook!'' Lucretia silenced him and gave him a stern look to remind him of his place before nodding to Frieda in order to let her speak.  
  
''It was clearly not safe to stop at the fire towers,'' the chief elder indicated while looking at Bathsheba.  
  
''For the record, I did counsel you not to take us there.''  
  
''What?'' Ariel was outraged. ''You're the one who convinced her to take us there!''  
  
The chubby elder gasped as if she got hurt by her words, ''Ariel! You're blaming me for this daymare of a migration? Your son, Shade and this ... human are both responsible for our entire situation!''  
  
''Vanessa did nothing wrong!'' Chinook retorted angrily.  
  
''That human is better of dead by now,'' Bathsheba snapped, ''One less of this barbaric species of her  
the better for all of us.''  
  
Chinook glared at her furiously. Then to his shock, he heard whispering among the colony, many of them agreeing with what Bathsheba just said.  
  
''Please, everyone!'' Frieda called out, trying to calm everyone down. ''With the owls against us, we cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves. Try to get some rest. Tomorrow we join the males at Stonehold.''  
  
With a nod, the others departed to find a place to sleep for the day. Only Chinook stood behind for a moment, glancing out of the knothole at the approaching dawn light.  
''_Please be okay,''_ he thought emphatically, ''_both of you.'' _He then let out a sigh and fluttered over to his mother's roosting place.

* * *

The next evening I woke up with a groan. My whole body felt as if I recently decided to train as a stunt double for an action movie. Slowly and carefully I sat up and lifted my left hand to rub the sleep out of my eyes. I hissed as I felt pain in my wrist as I moved my hand and looked down at it to see leaves bandaged around it. For a second I wondered why it was there until I remembered what had happened.  
I gulped thinking about the moment when Goth had bitten into my arm and hoped the wound wasn't too deep or would get an infection.  
  
For now, it seemed just fine. My friends had done well, taking care of my arm while I was knocked out.  
Thinking about them, I looked around, wondering where they were why also wondering about what had happened to Goth and Throbb. The last thing I remembered was that Goth followed me straight into the electric fence and got shot back into the sky like a rocket ship.  
  
''Vanessa, you are awake!''  
  
I turned around to see Marina flying down to me from her roost. To my surprise, she looked pretty relieved to see I'm awake.  
  
''Is everything okay?,'' she asked, ''How are you feeling?''  
  
I was a little baffled from the concern in her voice. Didn't she actually dislike me? Then again it was nice to know that she seemingly decided to be friendlier towards me now.  
  
''I'm okay,'' I said smiling at her and looked around again, ''Where is Shade?''

''He went out to hunt, but he should be back in a few minutes or so.''  
  
''I see.''  
  
''Oh, and Orestes went back to his father.''  
  
I nodded. Now that she said it. I had begun to wonder where he was. Too bad he had to leave before I could say goodbye to him. ''And what about ...?''  
  
''Don't worry. We don't have to fear about them anymore.''  
  
I blinked wondering what she meant by that when Shade came fluttering back into the tree.  
''Vanessa, you are finally awake,'' he exclaimed looking happy to see me.  
  
''She just woke up a few minutes ago,'' Marina explained.  
  
''How long was I out?''  
  
''Just the whole day. The sun went down two hours ago,'' she said.  
  
''I see.''  
  
Shade hopped closer and sat down beside me and Marina. ''Here that is for you. I'm sorry I couldn't find any berries, so I brought this for you instead. I hope it's okay.''  
  
''It's fine Shade I ...'' Just as I was about to take the food he brought me I took a look down at his hand and saw he was offering me a big fat grub.  
  
_''Dear heavens! No, just no!''_  
  
''Eh, thank you...'' I said, smiling forcefully while I was actually screaming on the inside.  
  
I looked less than happy at the thought of eating that thing. Seriously, couldn't he at least bring me a moth or something else more pleasing to look at? There was no way I could eat that, but I was hungry so ... Just then I heard chuckling and looked up in confusion to see Shade shaking a little with his lips pressed together.  
  
''What's wrong?'' I asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Instead of answering he just chuckling even more. Eventually, he couldn't hold it back anymore and started laughing out loud. Now completely confused I looked at Marina wondering if she had a clue about what was going on with him, but she just shrugged. Looking as puzzled as I.  
  
The Silverwing kept laughing a little while more until he finally calmed down.  
''I-I'm sorry,'' he said wiping tears away from his eyes from laughing so hard, ''But you should've seen the look on your face Vanessa. That was just priceless.''  
  
''_Haha, very funny Shade,'' _I thought, not looking very amused.  
  
Eventually, Shade calmed down enough and opened his other hand to show me a freshly picked bunch of blueberries.  
  
I wanted to kill him.

The Silverwing still chuckled a bit seeing the look on my face. ''I'm very sorry Vanessa. I just had to. I promise I won't do it again. Honestly.'' He offered me the berries, and I took them, even though I was angry at him for playing this joke on me, while he ate the grub himself.  
  
''Was that really necessary Shade?'' Marina scolded him with a glare and her wings crossed before her chest, ''You know she doesn't like to eat bugs.''  
  
''Hey, I apologized okay.''  
  
''Guys, it's fine. Let's stop talking about it okay?!'' I said, not wanting to see them fighting.  
  
''So, you are not angry with me?'' Shade asked looking at me hopefully.  
  
I sighed. ''No, I'm not'' I said even though I actually was, but only a little. ''But you better not try this again.''  
  
''I won't. Don't worry,'' he promised me then looked outside, ''I think it's time we should leave. Now that we got rid of those two meat-eaters our journey to Hibernaculum should be much easier now.  
_  
''Got rid of...?''_  
  
''Wait a second Shade! What do you mean with ''we got rid of those two meat-eaters''? What happened to them?''  
  
Shade blinked at me in confusion. ''Did you forget what happened to Goth yesterday?''  
  
I shook my head ''Uh, no. But all I remember is that he got himself burned by that electric fence and landed in some kind of ditch or something.''  
  
''Well, he did,'' Shade replied, ''But that doesn't matter. Fact is, he's dead.''  
  
''For real?'' I asked, looking surprised. Shade nodded happily.  
  
''At least Goth is,'' mentioned Marina, ''As far as we know Throbb is still alive.''  
  
''I don't think we need to worry about him much,'' Shade opined, ''His cousin was the more ... dangerous one of those two and since he is gone now. Everything will be fine.''  
  
''But what about the owls?'' I asked.  
  
''Orestes will probably tell his father what happened and if he needs to prove himself, he can also show him the place where Goth's body lies.''  
  
I nodded. That sounded good to me. If Brutus saw Goth he would have no other choice than believe our words. Though who knows how long his body will be lying there before scavengers would come and eat him up. Then again the size of his bones should be proof enough. I bet Brutus had never seen such big bat bones in his life before. 

* * *

Moments later I clung on to Marina's feet as we continued our journey towards Hibernaculum.  
At first, the Brightwing was adamant to give me more time to rest, but I assured her that I was okay.  
Still, she kept on checking on me whenever she thought she felt my grip losing on her feet.  
Each time I smiled up at her and tightened my grip a little while trying to ignore the soft throbbing pain in my left arm.  
  
After a few hours of flying Shade let out a deep sigh after looking around hopefully.  
  
''Any trace of your colony?'' Marina asked, but he shook his head.  
  
''Not even an echo. They can't be far from here, but we've got to rest!''  
  
He sounded a bit exhausted as he flew down to a tree branch to roost with Marina following him. The young female set me down close to the trunk then hung upside down underneath.  
  
''I don't mind flying on,'' she said.  
  
''The Silverwings will be roosting too,'' Shade replied,'' We won't lose any time.'' He smiled happily, ''And now since Goth is dead, we don't have to worry about him any longer.''  
  
''That's true,'' I said and sat down on the branch with my back leaning against the tree trunk. Slightly I wondered if Goth really kicked the bucket like Shade said.  
  
''_He has to be dead. There is no way he could've survived that.''_  
  
''So you guys think we will catch up with the Silverwings with less trouble now?''  
  
''Positive!'' Shade smiled confidently and roosted beside the Brightwing. ''Oh- you are going to love the Silverwings, Marina. All of them! My mom, and Mercury ... and even Chinook!''  
  
''And Frieda?''  
  
''Especially Frieda. Everybody loves Frieda.''  
  
I smiled while listening to him. Like them I couldn't wait to see the other Silverwings again.  
I really missed them by now. Especially Mercury. He was the first bat I even met and who introduced me to Frieda and others. He also took good care of me during my time in Tree Heaven. He was like a close friend to me. ... No! More than that. He was like a father to me.  
  
I sighed.  
Mercury and Ariel were probably worried to death about me and Shade. Maybe they even thought we were dead or something. Too bad there was no way for us let them know beforehand that we were alright, like giving them ... a call or ... anything ... like that...

* * *

I woke up feeling someone shaking my shoulder just realizing I'd fallen asleep.  
  
''Vanessa, is everything alright?''  
  
Blinking my eyes open I noticed Marina looking at me with a worried expression on her face.

''Yeah, yeah. I'm fine,'' I yawned, ''Just took a nap that's all.''  
  
She looked at me as if she didn't quite believe my words but instead of saying more about it she just nodded and told me to hang on to her feet, so we could continue flying on before dawn was coming.  
  
Even though my arm started to hurt a bit again, I grabbed both of her feet with my hands and let her carry me through the air.  
  
We didn't fly far when Shade suddenly stopped in mid-flight. His ear twitched as he seemed to listen to something before he motioned to us to follow him down into the woods.  
  
I was just about to ask what was wrong when I heard voices coming from below.  
  
As silent as possible Shade and Marina flew down towards a clearing where a female black bear was sitting together with her cub, a raccoon and a rabbit. From the sight of it, it looked like they were having a serious discussion.  
Swiftly we hid in a branch of a nearby hollow tree in order to eavesdrop on their conversation.

''Why can't the wolves stay up in the mountains where they belong?'' we heard one of them complain.  
  
''They should be hunting bats like those savage Silverwings, not all of us!'' another one added, causing all three of us to gasp.  
  
What was that supposed to mean? Did Brutus seriously order the wolves to go after us now as well? Carefully I walked closer to the opening and took a peek outside.   
  
''Well, I'm not raising my cub here,'' said the female bear and nuzzled her baby, causing the little guy to squeal in delight. I smiled thinking the bear cub was kinda cute and noticed the rabbit and the raccoon smiling at him as well.  
  
''We need to prepare for hibernation. It'll be safer in the eastern valley.''  
  
The other two gasped as they hear this.  
  
''You are crossing the human's road?''  
  
''What about their metal machines?'' the rabbit pointed out wide-eyed, ''You might get killed!''  
  
''We will get killed if we stay,'' the mother bear insisted ''We won't come back until those Silverwings are brought to justice.''   
  
''Oh, This isn't fair. It wasn't the Silverwings who killed the owls, it was giant bats!'' Shade muttered with a frown and clenched his fists. I knew he was right but there was not really anything we could do about it at the moment. Especially if nearly half the forest wanted us killed.  
  
Shade crossed his arms before his chest while looking like he was thinking about something when I suddenly realized that it had become quiet outside. Too quiet to be exact. Weird. Did those three just left or something?  
I was just about to take another peek outside to see what was going on when I heard something scratching against the bark of the tree we were in.  
  
''What...'' Shade had noticed it as well, but I quickly hushed him before he could say anything and pressed my ear against the wood trying to hear something. Right then Marina wrinkled her nose as if it was itching her, and then she gave a loud-  
  
''ACHOO!''  
  
Like on cue the tree began to shake violently while there was savage growling and barking outside.  
Pretty soon the tree toppled over causing all three of us to scream in fright as we got hurled around inside the branch. With a dull impact, the tree hit the ground, forcing the branch to snap off and roll a few feet away.  
  
When the branch finally came to a stop, Shade pulled himself up with a groan as did Marina and I.  
Thanks to these little turbulences my arm began to hurt even more now, so I had to grasp it with my other hand.  
Suddenly the long snout of a wolf appeared at one of the openings. Quickly we stumbled away towards the other end just to see another snout in front of the exit with baring sharp teeth and saliva running down its flews.  
Marina screamed when a paw suddenly ducked into the branch from above, scratching at the hole on the top.  
  
_''That's it!'' _I thought eyes widen with fear. _''We are trapped!''_


	19. Change of Hearts

Suddenly, the teeth on one end of the branch disappeared and a bright yellow-colored eye peeked inside, staring down at us with malicious curiosity.  
  
''So this is what the owls are so worked up about, ''the wolf said with amusement, ''Tiny flying mice and an itty bitty human.''  
  
''H-hey let us go!'' Shade demanded and stepped in front of me and Marina, trying his best to look brave.  
  
''You have no right to hold us!'' Marina added with a glare.  
  
''What's the hurry?'' the wolf asked with factitious kindness, ''Tell us where your colony is hiding Silverwing.''  
  
''So you can tell the owls and have us killed? Forget it!''  
  
''Killed?'' the wolf and his companions laughed in amusement as if Shade just told them a good joke.  
  
''Oh, we don't want you killed,'' came the voice of a female wolf from the other end of the branch, ''We want you and your colony protected.''  
  
_''Yeah, right,''_ I thought, raising an eyebrow at her in disbelieve.  
  
''As long as Silverwings are free, we can do whatever we want,'' drawled the male who I assumed to be the alpha of this pack, ''Hunt, expand our territory. All in the name of war.'' He grinned.  
  
''But the war is wrong! The Silverwings are innocent.''  
  
''Innocent, guilty… it matters not to us,'' the female casually replied and snapped her jaws with a growl, ''Our concern is food.''  
  
''With other words, you don't give a damn about what's going on. The main point is you can simply run around the forest and sink your teeth in anything that crosses your way, ''I glared at the she-wolf and crossed my arms before my chest.

The alpha wolf chuckled. ''You've got it little one. Brutus is too focused on his feud with the bats that he doesn't realize what else is going on around him.'' Once again he broke out into laughter and his companions quickly joined in. Then suddenly the alpha stopped and sniffed the air.  
At once all wolves got silent, and I wondered what was happening outside. I felt tempted to crawl over to one of the holes and check when we heard the wolves running off while growling and their fangs snapping.

''_They probably found some prey to hunt after.''_ I thought and felt bad for the unlucky creature that would soon end as a meal for those nasty predators.  
  
''Come on guys, let's get moving before they come back,'' Shade said and hoped over to the entrance to fly back up into the air. Marina and I nodded and followed him with me clinging on to the Brightwings feet.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Silverwings continued their journey towards Stonehold in order to meet with the adult males of the colony.  
  
''This is taking too long. We must be off course!'' Bathsheba complained once again just to earn a disapproving glance from Chinook who was flying right beside her.  
  
''Stonehold just ahead!'' Frieda called out with a smile, ignoring the other elder's words.   
  
''The rest of the males will be with us soon.'' Ariel smiled with excitement while flying beside her leader.''   
  
Frieda nodded, ''And just in time,'' she added, smiling back.  
  
Bathsheba growled under her breath, surely not happy to hear this while Chinook just smirked, feeling glad that the whiny elder got proven wrong.

* * *

Shade, Marina and I kept flying through the forest for about an hour after our encounter with the wolves. Eventually, we decided to take a short break by a stream to rest and catch something to eat.  
I let Marina land me down on the shore before she flew off to hunt some bugs with Shade and walked a bit closer to the water.  
Carefully I bend down and scooped some of it up with my hands to drink it.  
Even though it was cold, the water felt very refreshing, so I drank some more of it until I didn't feel thirsty anymore.  
  
''Ah, that was good,'' I sighed and wiped some drops from my mouth with the back of my sleeve.  
Just then I heard something that sounded like loud snoring.  
Feeling puzzled I looked around until I spotted a massive white hill lying just a few feet away from me on the shore snoring loudly.  
  
_''Wait a minute!'' _I thought confused. _''Hills can't snore.''_  
Taking a closer look I finally notice that the white surface was actually fur, belonging to a large animal that took a nap by the stream.  
I got back up and carefully walked closer to it, wanting to know what kind of animal that was.  
After walking halfway around I stopped by its face and figured that it was a bear.  
It looked kinda like the mother bear I saw earlier but with snow-white instead of black fur and a black colored nose. On its left ear stuck an orange tag.  
  
I looked around to see if my friends were around then looked back at the sleeping bear in front of me. I couldn't believe how big it was. It was practically huge. The nose alone was at least twice the size of my current body size.  
Knowing it was probably a bad idea I still couldn't help myself but reached out to touch the nose. Just wanting to know what it felt like. I slowly walked closer until my palm came in direct contact with the bear's nose which felt damp like the nose of a dog.  
Feeling the bear's hot breath against my face made me took a step back, not liking the stinky fish odor that came with it.  
  
Suddenly the white bear frowned in its sleep and wrinkled its nose as if smelling something unfamiliar. Quickly, I moved away from its face and stumbled against the bear's fur.  
I smiled, liking how soft and warm it felt as I touched it. For a moment I was tempted to snuggle into it like a big warm blanket. Though, I doubted that the bear would like to see a stranger moreover a human so close by itself when it woke up. Then again... The bear didn't look like it would wake up anytime soon and its fur looked just too comfy so... Why not take a rest on it for just a few minutes? That shouldn't cause any trouble now, should it?

I was just about to snuggle into the bear's soft white fur when it suddenly started to wake up with a big yawn. Quickly I stepped away and watched how the bear blinked open its eyes and looked around tiredly as if trying to focus on its surroundings. It was just about to go back to sleep when its eyes eventually caught on to me. Immediately the bear seemed to be fully awake with its blue eyes wide open.  
  
''Uh, ... hi,'' I said, smiling awkwardly, causing the white bear to rose up in surprise and let out a deafening roar. Taken by surprise I screamed and jumped behind a log that was lying on the grass close by. Feeling scared I peeked over the log and watched the bear stop growling and falling back onto all fours. Then it walked closer and sniffed me a bit, inducing me to back away some more. But instead of gobbling me up with its big mouth the bear just blinked at me and then walked over to the stream where it, to my surprise, dunked its head right into the cold water. A moment later the bear pulled its head out again and shook the water out of its fur.  
Confused about its act I kept watching the bear while feeling quite unsure what to do now.  
From my hiding place, I heard it mumbling to itself about me. And by the sound of its voice, I assumed it to be a female, saying something like I'm just a product of her fantasy. Not real. Just a dream and so on.   
I wondered if I should talk to her and let her know that I'm not a dream when I heard my friends calling for me.

Seconds later they both landed by me on the grass with Shade having a worried look on his face.  
''Vanessa are you alright? We heard a loud roar and ...'' He stopped hearing Marina gasp behind him and turned around to see the massive white she-bear right behind us.  
  
The bear looked at each of us in silence for a few seconds. Then her eyes lit up, realizing that she wasn't dreaming at all.  
  
''Y-you're a Silverwing!'' she exclaimed staring at Shade. ''Oh, not good. Definitely not good. You must go! You were never here. You are just a dream. A bad, bad dream.''  
  
''Uh, no. We are not,'' Shade said, frowning a bit in confusion while flying up onto the log, ''We are real. I'm Shade and these are Marina and Vanessa.''  
  
The bear looked down at us again and gasped softly, noticing me. ''A tiny human?! That's even better.'' With an annoyed groan, she turned around, obviously not being happy to have met us and trudged away.  
  
''Hey! Wait!'' called Shade and flew after her deeper into the forest, followed by Marina and me. Eventually, the she-bear stopped by a giant metallic container stuck between two trees on a small clearing. Insouciantly she nudged the hatch with her nose and started munching the orange food pellets that fell out of it.  
  
''What is that stuff?'' Marina asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the strange food as we three landed on top of the container. Startled by her voice, the bear banged her head on the metal, causing us to almost fell down from it.  
  
''Huh? Are you still here?'' She asked with a glare and rubbed her sore head.

''Did the humans bring you that food?'' Shade asked.  
  
''Well, of course!''  
  
''What is it?''  
  
''It's crunchy...fishy...berry stuff,'' she obviously had no idea. ''Who cares? It's delicious.'' She smiled a bit to herself then quickly glared at us again. ''But keep away! You can't have any,'' she warned us and went back to eat her meal.  
  
I crossed my arms and frowned at that attitude of hers._ ''Like we would even want any,''_ I thought.  
  
''Did the humans put that tag on your ear?'' Marina asked curiously while studying the bear's head.  
  
The white bear licked some crumbs off of her muzzle. ''Of course, they did,'' she proudly said while turning her ear with the orange tag on it towards us. ''I'm special. I'm a black bear who happens to be white.''  
  
''The humans gave me this,'' Marina lifted her wing to show her, her silver band.  
  
''Oh, that's not the same, You're just a bat. There are millions of bats. I'm rare. That's why the humans worship me.''

_''Excuse me... what?!''_

I gaped at her filled with indignation. But before I could even think of what to say all four of us got startled by feral growls and snarling. Turning around, we saw a raccoon running for his life while being chased by the same wolf pack Shade, Marina and I had encountered earlier.  
  
''Someone should do something!'' Marina exclaimed.  
  
The she-bear just huffed. ''Those are just some predators hunting their prey. Its nature so why bother?''  
  
''Maybe because those wolves are hunting down the whole forest?!'' I said.  
  
''So?''  
  
''So? Who cares if it's nature. There still needs to be someone who keeps them at bay.''  
  
''Look, girl, I'm not their leader so there wouldn't even be a point in trying to reason with them.''  
My eyes lid up. An idea crossed my mind.  
  
''And what if you were the leader? Being in such a high position you could represent and protect the other animals and get much praise from them as well, besides the fact of your ... rareness.''  
  
''Oh no forget it!,'' she said, shaking her head,'' If that owl Brutus gets the whiff of that, I'll be forced to be at his meetings and then I would need to tell him about you three. Then he would want details!  
Yes, and then there'll be more meetings, and plans, and patrols, and probably even more meetings.''  
She huffed and shook her head. ''Thank you but I'm happy with the peaceful life I have now and I do not wish to change that. And now buzz off!'' The white bear turned back to her pellets, purposely smacking and chewing loudly.

Feeling frustrated and tired of trying to talk with her, Shade let a soft sigh and got airborne, quickly followed by Marina and me clinging to her feet.  
  
''She's as bad as the wolves.''  
  
''It's the humans' fault giving her everything she wants.''  
  
I let out a sigh, knowing well how right Shade was. It was my kinds fault. Unfortunately, there seemed nothing we could do to change that.

* * *

We kept flying silently through the forest for a few more minutes until we suddenly heard a desperate crying sound echoing from below. Wondering what that was we quickly decided to check it out and came across a little black bear cub, who seemed to be all alone, crying his eyes out.

''Where is his mother?'' Marina asked and looked around, trying to find a trace of her.

''She must have been killed, crossing the road,'' I answered, remembering the conversation I had overheard in the branch about the black bear mother, wanting to cross it in order to get to the eastern valley.

''Shh- shh-shh,'' Shade hushed softly, trying to calm down the baby, ''Keep quiet, Keep quiet.''  
  
The little guy stopped crying and looked up at us sadly.  
  
''There must be some safe place we can take him,'' Marina said. 

''Sure but where?''  
  
Shade thought for a moment, ''I know! We can take him to the white she-bear.''   
  
''Huh?''

''Are you sure about that Shade?'' I asked, not liking that idea.  
  
''Well, you have a better idea?''

''Eh, no but ...''

''Then it's settled. That female might be a little self-seeking but I'm sure she won't neglect one of her own in need.''

I looked back at the cub. The little guy just began to cry out again for his mother and laid down on his tummy. I may still not agree with Shade's plan but hearing the little ones heart-wrenching wails I knew we had to do something quickly. We obviously couldn't leave him here. The wolves or any other predator might come and eat him. The only question now was how we would get the cub to follow us around?

* * *

Flying through wafts of mist, the Silverwings crossed a gorge with a sparkling river flowing below.

Chinook beamed, knowing where they must be now. ''Stonehold! It is, isn't it Frieda?'' he asked her excitedly.

The chief elder smiled and nodded softly, causing the young male to burst out in joy and to fly up ahead. Leading the colony down to the rocky walls. Immediately Chinook began to explore the new territory and fluttered inside Stonehold, feeling eager to meet his father for the first time in his life.

In the meantime, Frieda, along with Mercury and Bathsheba sat down on the branch of a tree while the rest of the Silverwings took roost on the other trees around.

''The young ones will finally meet their fathers.'' Frieda smiled and waited for the males to come out and meet their mates and children.

Mercury smiled as well and watched the young bats flying around in excitement.   
But his smile soon vanished from his face when Chinook returned. Confusion and sadness were written on his face. ''They're...they're gone,'' he said, ''The males! They're all...gone...''  
  
As if knowing it must be her fault, Bathsheba glared accusingly at Frieda and growled softly while the chief elder herself lets out a worried sigh.

* * *

After thinking for a moment, Marina seemed to have an idea, spotting a bush with juicy red berries on it. She flew over and broke off a small twig from it. ''Hey, looky what I've got,'' She fluttered back to the cub and wiggled the twig in front of his face to get his attention.

The cub stopped crying and looked at her with wide curious eyes.

''That's it, sweety. Now you want those berries? Then come, come...''

She flew a bit ahead, and the cub did crawl after her. Happy to see that Marina's plan seemed to, Shade, and I followed as well. It didn't take us long until we were back at the same small clearing with the food container. To our luck the female white bear was still there, reaching into the container as if trying to scrape some leftovers.   
  
''Hey, You. Hello!'' Shade called out, causing the bear to accidentally slam her head into the metal once more in surprise. She fell back onto her rear and rubbed her head, grumbling a bit. She looked over to us and gasped in horror, spotting the little black bear cub among us.

''Get that thing out of here!'' she said with disgust and flinched back.

I frowned at her, while Shade put me down on a large rock before landing down on it himself.

''He needs looking after. His mother was killed'' Marina tried to explain as she landed before the adult bear on the ground. But the white one just huffed and stubbornly turned her face away. 

''Gah, Look!'' Shade tried to reason with her, ''He's a black bear and you are really a black bear.''  
  
''Who happens to be white!'' she snapped.   
  
''Whatever!'' I said, rolling my eyes, having enough of this. ''The point is this cub needs help and...''

''Then why are you bugging me with this? I have no interest in babysitting some annoying tot.'' With a huff she turned away totally ignoring me.''Now,'' she said, ''Take your sniveling little friend – HEY! Get out of there!''

Without noticing the bear cub had crawled over to a pile of leftovers from her food container and was munching on it hungrily. Not liking to see this the female bear rushed over and roughly shoved him away with her big paw and began eating it herself.

I frowned at her more before turning over to Shade, wondering if he had an idea of what we could do now, but he just helplessly shrugged his shoulders. I sighed.

Knowing there was nothing we could do to change her opinion. Marina, Shade and I decided it was probably for the best if we just left. So Marina picked the twig with the berries back up and lured the cub away and deeper into the forest with me and Shade close behind.

I took a short look over my shoulder and watched the she-bear noisily eating the food she refused to share with a starving baby. With a deep sigh, I shook my head and turned my glance away from her again.

* * *

''My colony is barely an echo from here, and we are stuck with this cub,'' Shade groaned, really hating our current situation.''  
  
''Well, we can't just leave him,'' I said and looked down on the cub. A bit earlier Marina had given him the berries to eat., so he would have at least a bit food in his stomach. And now he was still following us around. It seemed the little guy already grew attached to us.  
I smiled softly thinking of this, but my smile quickly vanished as I suddenly heard growling close around us.  
  
''Don't worry.'' a voice growled pleasantly, and to our shock, the alpha wolf stepped forwards from behind a tree with a sinister grin on his face, ''We'll take care of the little guy.''  
  
We tried to back away, but two more wolves appeared out of the shadows. Encircling us with their teeth bared and eyes glowing with hunger.  
Shade urged the cub to turn around and run back, but one of the wolves jumped in our way, blocking our path and causing the little guy to back off and cry out in fear.  
Shade charged at the wolf and smacked himself right onto his face, blocking his view with his wings. The wolf whimpered, shook him off and dodged another attack by Marina.  
  
''Well, well, well…,'' the alpha chuckled, ''perhaps you really are owl killers.'' He and his pack moved closer towards me and the cub, forcing us to be backed into a corner. With horror, I watched the predators getting closer and desperately thought of a plan. Being small as I was I may had a chance to quickly sneak away between the wolves paws and hide under some roots or something. But what about the cub? I couldn't leave him. The wolves would surely eat him.  
  
Looking up I saw Shade and Marina swooping down for another attack. But the alpha already saw them coming and with the help of his hind leg, he stroke Shade right into his face, causing the boy to crash into Marina behind him. With a grunt, they both fell down and tumbled over the ground.  
  
''Guys!'' I called out to them, hoping they were alright. To my joy Shade raised up his head, but he seemed to be too weak to get up fully. I wanted to run to him and Marina and get the hell out of here but the wolves were getting closer and closer.  
The baby bear beside me whimpered and was frozen with fear.. I looked around, trying to find something to use as a weapon to defend myself and the cub. But there was nothing useful in sight.

However, I did not want to die like a wuss and cling to the bear cub's fur while crying for help and mercy. No way! I would rather die while at least trying to fight than that. Nevertheless, I knew this was probably an idiotic idea. I had absolutely no chance against three full-grown wolves. Still, this didn't stop me from stepping between them and the cub.  
  
''Move it you bastards! I won't let you have this cub!'' I said, trying my best to sound as brave as I could.  
  
The alpha chuckled with amusement. ''Oh, and who's going to stop us? You, pipsqueak?'' He laughed out loud, quickly joined by his pack. I glared at them, still trying not to show any fear.  
  
''Just go! Uhm...Out!...Down!''  
  
''What are you doing? Do you think you can treat us like measly dogs?'' The alpha wolf growled at me threateningly, looking greatly insulted. I knew I made a mistake watching the two other wolves looked also quite pissed now as well.  
  
''S-stay away!'' I called, feeling my heart beating hard in my chest. One of the wolves crouched down, ready to jump but the alpha quickly stepped in his way, growling at him. The other wolf respectfully backed away, giving his leader the advantage of attacking us first.

With a satisfied grin, he faced us again. The young bear cub cried out again and put his little paws over his eyes not wanting to see what will happen next. I, for my part stayed where I was. My heart beating faster with my breath stuck in my throat.

_''That's it,'' _I thought,_ ''This is the end!''_

The alpha wolf snarled dangerously and was just about to pounce on us when suddenly a large white paw hit him against his jaw, causing him to be sent flying backward.  
For a moment I was confused and didn't get what was going on. But then I looked up and to my surprise, I saw the white-furred black bear female, towering protectively over me and the cub.  
Letting out a loud, deafening roar, she caused the wolves to back away from us in fear.  
  
''Cowards, attack her!'' the alpha snarled and led them back towards the she-bear in order to attack.  
But before they could get to too close, she simply smacked the leader away again with her paw and threw another wolf, that managed to leap on top of her into the trunk of a tree.  
Now the third wolf tried to attack but the she-bear easily knocked him away as well.  
Then the alpha charged at her again and went for her throat, but she quickly snatched him by his own and held him away, while he tried to bite into her face.

Meanwhile, my two bat friends managed to get back into the scene and helped her in her fight against the wolves. Shade himself landed on the alpha wolf's face as he did earlier with one of the others, causing him to cry out in pain and fall from the bears grasp, while Marina sunk her fangs into the skin of another wolf. The wolf howled in pain and shook her off while trying to bite her and immediately got hit in the face by the she-bear. Whimpering like scared little puppies the two wolves run away into the woods, leaving their leader behind.  
  
The alpha himself, however, did not want to give up that easily.  
Once more, after freeing himself from Shade, he lunged at me and the bear cub but the adult female bear knocked him away from us again. With a growl he got back up again, ready to attack her. But after one more roar, he eventually gave up and turned around. Defeated, he run off after his pack, whimpering and with his tail tucked between his legs.  
  
Marina and Shade cheered while I sat down smiling with relief. The little cub growled happily as well and waved at our savior who looked over to him and at her paw and then off into the distance as if she could not believe what she had done.

* * *

Moments later we were all back by the food container. There I happily watched how the white she-bear pushed a tray of food pellets towards the cub, who gratefully dig into the food with a big smile on his face.

''You showed those wolves!'' a rabbit that had been watching the fight along with a raccoon praised her with joy.  
  
''You took charge!'' Marina cheered as well, while she hung on a branch together with Shade.  
  
''Yes...but they'll be back,'' the bear said with a sigh and laid down on the ground.  
  
''And there'll be more of them next time,'' Shade added with a frown.  
  
''We have to cross the human road. Find someplace safe…'' the raccoon suggested, but the she-bear shook her head.

''No!'' she said firmly. ''Running away won't solve this. We'll go to Brutus. We'll tell him Shade and Vanessa's story and get him to stop this war.'' 

My bat friends looked overjoyed by her decision but I wasn't quite sure of what to think of this. Sure she had saved us and all but did she really do that because she had a change of heart or did she just do it for recognition?

''You sure Brutus will listen?'' the rabbit asked doubtfully.

The white one sighted. Then she looked ahead with determination written on her face, ''We have to try it at least. In the name of the bats and all critters in the forest, I will personally go to the General myself and tell him everything.''

Hearing this, I huffed a bit and sat down with my arms crossed before my chest. ''So will you?'' I asked earning a glance from Marina that said something along the line of: 'What are you doing? Don't ruin this moment.' But I ignored her.   
The Addressed one, however, looked at me puzzled and raised an eyebrow.

''Yes, I will. What makes you think I won't little one?''

I shrugged. ''Dunno, maybe because of that attitude of yours you greeted us with when we first met. Or the fact that you first refused to help us with Koda here.''

''Koda?'' Shade asked.

''Uh, just a name I came up with.'' I explained, ''We can't call him cub the whole time. Now can we?''

''Eh, no...''

''But Vanessa,'' Marina interrupted and looked down at me reproachfully, ''Aren't you a little ungrateful here? You and Koda would be dead if it weren't for her.''

I sighed in annoyance. ''Marina...''

''No, you listen! It doesn't matter how she acted earlier. Fact is she saved us which means she must have changed her mind.''

''I just want to know the cause of it,'' I replied, ''Nobody changes just like that without some influence.''

''Girls please,'' Shade tried to pease. ''I'm sure that ... uh...'' He stopped and looked at the white she-bear. Just realizing that we never got to know her name.

''Excuse me for not introducing me to you earlier,'' She said, ''I'm Ursa.''

''Well then, thank you, Ursa, for helping us,'' Shade smiled. Marina smiled as well and then glared at me again, noticing I was still frowning. She was just about to say something again, but Ursa held up her paw, stopping her.

''You are welcome but please, don't argue. Vanessa here is right to doubt my actions. I was foolish and selfish for acting this way. Especially on a time like this.''

''But what made you change your mind now?'' I asked.

''It was you.''

''Huh?''

Ursa nodded while I stared at her in confusion. ''You were the one who said that there need to be someone who represents the beast in this forest and protect them. Don't get me wrong I'm not volunteering as a leader to get praise and recognition. I'm doing that because there needs to be someone who keeps an overview of this chaos here and who reminds Brutus of what his actions are causing to everyone else.''  
  
''I see...''  
  
''But that's not all.'' I looked back up, wondering what else she had to tell me. ''When you and your friends went off with Koda... I saw a glance of you looking at me. Your sad and disappointed expression made me overthink my whole life and what I was doing.'' She paused shortly and sighed. ''You must now. I've got this tag on my ear since I was a little cub myself. Like Koda here. I had lost my mother, but I was lucky to be found by friendly humans who took good care of me. As soon as I grew up they brought me back into the wild, but kept on sending me food, knowing I was very untrained in gathering my own food. With time, I managed to take care of myself, but I also kept on eating the food the humans bring me until today. I thought they would do this because they think I'm special. But seeing you I realized that I'm not so special at all. At least not because of the color of my fur.''  
  
''Well, I think you are special. But in some other way you know,'' I said and smiled at her. Ursa smiled back and the other animals smiled as well.  
  
''Now then, '' she said and looked up into the sky, ''You three better now go and look for a roost. It's close to dawn.'' Shade nodded and flew down to me.  
  
I petted the bear cub in order to say goodbye and let him nuzzle me playfully.  
''Promise you will take good care of Koda?'' I asked, looking at Ursa.  
  
''Don't worry. I will care for him like he were my own,'' she assured me with another smile. ''Now, goodbye my friends and safe traveling.''  
  
''Goodbye and good luck with Brutus! Hopefully he will listen to you.''  
  
Shade grabbed my hands with his feet and followed Marina high into the sky.  
For a moment we stopped and looked back to wave at Ursa, Koda, the rabbit, and the raccoon and watched them waving back to us before finally setting off. 

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the outskirts of the power station, Goth was still lying lifeless in the ditch. His bruised and burned body attracted the attention of two hungry crows. They flew down next to him on a fallen tree and looked rather pleased with what they had found.  
One of them began to prod at Goth's arm with its beak before turning to its friend.

''Not only is this bat huge, it's already cooked!''

The crow had no time to laugh at its own joke when the bat's hand suddenly jolt up and grabbed it by the throat. Startled the other crow fled right on the spot, leaving its friend behind. The poor crow tried to struggle out of Goth's grasp, but the Vampyrum just took a bite into the bird, earning a pained scream and chuckled darkly while ending its life.


	20. Murphy's Law

Back at Stonehold all females and newborns were concerned about the none existence of the males. Some were talking about what may have happened to them while hoping it wasn't something serious. And others kept flying around, searching for their missing brothers, sons, mates, and fathers. They were calling out names, but no one answered.

''Any sign of the males?'' Frieda asked Ariel as the younger female landed down beside her on a narrow ledge.

''Not a trace,'' she replied gloomily.

Then Mercury appeared having a serious look on his face. ''The owls were here,'' he said grimly and showed them a dark brown owl feather which he had found while scouting through the roost. All Silverwings gasped with shock as they saw this. Fearing the worst. Among the tumult, Bathsheba flew up from her roost and landed down before Frieda, Ariel, and Mercury.

''On top of everything we have endured. Now the males are missing,'' she snarled loudly, causing everyone else around to turn quiet. ''How many more bad decisions will Frieda make?''

The chief elder glared down at her with her arms crossed before her chest. But her confidence quickly fell, hearing most of the Silverwings muttering in agreement with Bathsheba. The chubby elder smirked knowing this was her chance to get what she always wanted.

''It's my duty to ensure that the leadership acts in the best interest of all Silverwings,'' she announced.

''Frieda is a good leader!'' Ariel protested, ''We trust her.''

''I'm sure you do Ariel,'' Bathsheba said, looking at her with her nose wrinkled, ''She saved the life of your law-breaker son and that so-called human who both brought nothing, but trouble to the whole colony.''

''That's not true!'' Mercury tried to interfere but the pudgy elder ignored him and turned her attention back to the rest of the colony instead.

''Maybe it's time for a leadership vote.''

To Frieda, Mercury and Ariel's shock, all bats around them muttered among themselves and nodded in agreement.

* * *

Like promised, Ursa, the white-furred black bear, had sent out a message to General Brutus and was now meeting him, his son Orestes and Lieutenant Atlas to speak with him about Shade, Vanessa, and the wolves. As she arrived, other forest animals including deer, squirrels, rabbits, and skunks accompanied her.

''Greetings, General Brutus,'' she said as she approached.

''What you have to report, bear?''

''The Silverwings are innocent of the charges,'' Ursa claimed, getting straight to the point.

''So, you've made contact with the Silverwing and probably with that tiny human and the Brightwing as well. How are they?'' he asked calmly, causing his son to drop his beak and to stare at his father in confusion. Since when was he interested in Shade's well-being or that of the two girls Vanessa and Marina?

''They are fine,'' Ursa said not noticing anything odd about the General's question, ''Shade assures me that giant meat-eating bats are-''

''Are responsible for this war?'' he finished for her.

''Yes…'' Ursa was taken aback. How come he knew about that? ''A-and the wolves are eating more than their share.''

The animals that came with her to this meeting chattered in agreement.

''I see,'' the owl general leaned back and closed his eyes for a second. ''I can assure you that this war has nothing to do with giant meat-eating bats- and everything to do with those murderers Shade, Vanessa, and the Silverwing colony!''

''Shade and Vanessa are saving lives not taking them!'' Ursa glared at the general, not liking how he spoke about her new friends.

''Enough!'' Brutus bellowed, glaring, slowly losing his temper. ''I have been told to expect such lies from you.''

''From whom?'' Ursa demanded to know and all the animals surrounding her began chattering about what was going on. Asking themselves the same question.

Brutus, however, did not give her an answer but instead looked over her head. Turning around, Ursa grimaced at the sight of a familiar wolf pack, that arrived on the scene like on cue._ ''_Of course!_''_ she thought grimly, _''That explains it all.''_

* * *

The next evening, we had a quick breakfast comprising mosquitos and bugs for my friends and juicy berries for myself. I sighed. How I wished to get something else to eat for a change. The berries were all tasty out of question but I wasn't a vegan. I couldn't eat only fruits all the time. Oh, If I could just order a pizza or something like that. That would have been great!

Finishing her meal, Marina landed down by me on the branch and picked a red berry off a bush with her claw. She squeezed the juice onto her band and sighed from the relief it gave her. ''Zephyr was right. These berries really are soothing.'' She picked another one and turned to me. ''Hey, Vanessa, want me to rub some of it onto your arm? It might help you as well, and we need to check on your wound, anyway.''

''Sure,'' I replied and wrapped the leaf bandage off of my wrist. The wound underneath seemed to heal well. Scabs had formed over the bloody scratches which itched a little. But it felt much better after Marina gently smeared the berry juice over my wrist.

''Thank you,'' I said as she was dressing the wound again with a new fresh leaf.

''You are welcome,'' she replied, smiling at me a bit. Then she turned around to see how Shade was doing. On a branch below us the young male was crouching before a bunch of reddish-brown colored leaves. He tore one of them off and was just about to lick it, when Marina let out a shocked gasped, noticing what he was doing.

''Shade!'' she quickly flew over to stop him. ''That leaf can knock you out cold!'' she reminded him, but the Silverwing just grinned. Mischief gleamed in his eyes.

''Nah! I don't think it…. uh….'' without warning Shade suddenly collapsed face down on the branch and started snoring.

I gasped and watched Marina shaking Shade's shoulder in panic ''Shade! Wake up! Shade please!''

Abruptly the unconscious bat woke up again and sat up straight, surprising Marina. He had a bright smile on his face and held up the leaf he plucked while laughing at Marina's reaction. Miffed over Shade's prank the Brightwing glared at him with her hands on her hips.

''Shade! You can't treat Zephyr's teachings like they are some cheap trick!''

''Hey, I'm sorry,'' he replied frowning back and tossed the leaf away while getting back up, ''I couldn't care less about that plant stuff. ''We're on our way to Hibernaculum, not Herbanaculum.''

''You have to get us there first. Remember the owls are still after us.''

''... and my whole colony.'' Shade looked down at his feet.

I sighed. We really needed to get to the winter roost as soon as possible. But that was easier said than done. Especially since none of us has ever been there before. Moreover, I wondered if we ever catch up with the colony on our way or if they had already reached Hibernaculum before us. And what about the closed sky? Hopefully, they were all safe. I looked back at them and saw Shade concentrating hard with his eyes tightly closed and his claws placed on his head. Seconds later he opened his eyes up again.

Marina looks at him expectantly. ''Well, where do we have to go next?''

''Uh, I think that must be Stonehold, the place where the adult males of my colony spends the summer at,'' he replied.

''Do you think we might meet up with the Silverwings there?'' I asked.

''Possible.''

''Great. Now, how far away is it? Marina clapped her hands together, looking ready to leave.

''Close... I think…''

I raised an eyebrow. ''What do you mean?''

''We just have to look for a pine tree that looks like an arrow,'' he answered.

''Are you kidding?'' Marina frowned at him again and threw her hands up in exasperation. ''There must be a billion pine trees around here!''

''Well, I'll know it when I see it,'' he said in self-defense.

''And what if the owls see us first?''

The Silverwing looked down again.

''Shade…'' Marina softened her tone and hold up her banded wrist, ''I'm not going to feel safe until I'm comparing bands with Frieda.''.

Shade smiled, ''Come on. Let's make that happen.'' And with that, he got airborne and flew over to me. Picking me up he flew off into the starry sky with Marina beside us.

* * *

''Therefore, in accordance with the statutes of the great treaty- I banish you to the eastern valley for high treason,'' Brutus declared, glaring at Ursa.

The white-furred she-bear angrily stood up on her hind legs. ''A true leader would do everything to avoid war, not create it. Nothing good can come of this, Brutus.''

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears. Only Orestes sighed sympathetically as he looked down at his feet.

Seeing that there was nothing she could do to make the owl General listen, Ursa got back down on all fours and walked off. The animals that came with her to the meeting followed her closely. There was no way they would stay behind with those voracious wolves. Those however just grinned, knowing that there was still enough prey in the forest. And with Ursa out of the picture, they could hunt freely and as much as they wanted.

* * *

After hours of flying around through the forest, we finally spotted the landmark we were looking for. A large pine tree with its tip slightly bend, making it look like an arrow pointing into a certain direction._ ''So that's what he meant by: 'shaped like an arrow',''_ I thought and smiled. Now, all we had to do was fly in that direction and reach Stonehold. At our rate, we might as well get there before sunset. I couldn't wait to finally meet Mercury, Ariel and the others again and Shade seemed to be just as excited.

''Are you ready to meet my colony, Marina?'' he called over his shoulder, ''... Marina?''

Weird, why wasn't she answering? Suddenly Shade and I heard a muffled cry right behind us and turned around. To our shock, we saw Marina caught in the tight grasp of a giant bat with one of its feet covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

''Throbb!'' I exclaimed, recognizing the giant bat. The Vampyrum chuckled seeing the look on our faces and blew an air kiss at us in greeting.

''Marina!'' Shade shouted, not looking back front to see where he was going.

Having a bad feeling I looked back myself. Without warning, a large clawed hand grabbed me by my cloak and roughly yanked me down on a branch, causing Shade to lose his balance and stumble down beside me. We groaned in pain but managed to pick ourselves back up quickly. I wanted to ask if he was ok, but then I looked up and turned pale. Another large bat stood right in front of us. One that shouldn't even be here at all. With disbelief written on my face, I watched Goth smiling down at us with a pleasant grin on his face.

''I'm not sure about your friend, but I am quite ready to meet your colony, mi amigos.''

How was that possible? How could Goth still be alive? Didn't Shade say he died of the electricity of the power station? Well, his fur and wings did look burned, but seemingly not so much that he would be unable to fly or hunt. His hair and beard were a mess and also a bit shorter than I had in memory. Nevertheless, I could have been blind and still knew that it was him. That voice and that Spanish accent, I would recognize this everywhere.

While Shade and I still stared at Goth, Throbb had flown over and threw Marina into our midst. She moaned from the impact, but seemed to be fine. Then she looked up and looked just as horrified as us when noticing Goth. The Vampyrum grinned some more, then flew over to his cousin, who had landed on another tree across from us. The chubby Vampyrum wrapped his wings tightly around his body and shivered while the wind softly howled.

''Goth, I am freezing!'' he complained, ''I want to go back to the jungle. I miss the hot sun, the hunting and all my servant bats waiting on me claw and wing...'' he glared over to us, ''I say we eat them now.''

''Patience, Throbb,'' Goth reminded him calmly. ''Two small bats and one puny human do not the buffet make.''

I had to admit, my English was far from perfect since it wasn't my mother tongue, but I could have sworn that there was something grammatically wrong with that sentence.

''However,'' Goth continued, ''spending the winter dining on Silverwings will hold us until we return to our warm jungle.'' He flew back to us and snatched Shade by the shoulders, lifting him off his feet. ''Where is your colony? Tell me!'' he hissed and pulled the boy close to his face.''

Looking terrified the young Silverwing shakily pointed to the left.

The Vampyrum glanced over to where Shade was pointing and smiling darkly. ''You are pointing in the opposite direction to where you flew.'' He said and roughly shoved Shade back against the tree.

''Uh...we were about to change directions when you caught us.''

''You are lying,'' Goth snarled and pierced the bark of the tree. Barely an inch away from my face.

_''Holy -!''_ I dug my nails into the wood and wished I could just melt into it and disappear.

''No, I-I swear!'' Shade tried to convince him as Goth scratched the wood with his claw. Slowly going down towards my shoulder. Then he pulled his claw away started to laugh loudly and hysterically. Totally confused I turned to my friends and thought Goth had lost his mind all of a sudden. Marina and Shade looked just as puzzled than I. Even Throbb seemed to wonder what had gotten into his cousin. Seeing him raising his eyebrow and scratching his head while watching.

''S-such...such a feeble attempt at deception,'' Goth had tears in his eyes and wiped them off while laughing even harder.

Shade sighed heavily and looked down to his feet.

Eventually Goth calmed himself back down to speak again.

''Ah, you know for such a tiny … '' he trailed off, looking down at Shade momentarily and smacked his lips, ''... bat you have caused me muchos problemas.''

His eyes lifted at a strange sound coming from above and without warning he slammed his claw over our heads, making us scream. He plucked out a pink, fat squeaking worm and slurped it down.

_''Urgh!''_ I thought with disgust.

Goth sniffed and held up his finger, ''But no more. Never again will I underestimate you, Shade Silverwing. ''He pointed at him and leaned closer to trembling boy. ''Since you have pointed to your colony in the opposite direction, you must know that I would think that you are lying.''

Shade raised an eyebrow. ''Huh?''

''You must hope that I would not believe you and fly in the opposite direction, yes?'' Goth pointed to the right.

I blinked, ''Eh?''

Goth chuckled, ''I will call your bluff, and we shall fly in the opposite of the opposite direction, si?'' Looking very pleased with himself, he clasped his claws together and smiled.

''Huh?'' My friends and I were now more than confused and I began to think that I was either stuck in a very weird dream or Goth needed to see a vet pretty soon. Whatever the electricity did to his brain. It was definitely nothing good.

''But what if you're wrong, Goth?'' Throbb spoke up, probably worrying about his cousin's sanity as well.

Goth smirked evilly: ''Then you will eat the Brightwing, Throbb. That should change his mind.''

The other Vampyrum seemed to like that idea a lot. Grinning viciously he licked his mouth and stared hungrily at Marina who gulped in fear and moved closer to Shade.

* * *

Frieda looked with worry up to the bats of her colony. A restless murmur went among them.

Then Bathsheba cleared her throat getting everyone's attention and spoke up: ''All those in favor of appointing me as the new leader?''

Most of the Silverwings raised their wings.

''All in favor of Frieda?''

Mercury, Chinook, who had flown over to them, and Ariel desperately stretched their wings high up. Unfortunately, just a few others raised their wings as well. The rest abstained.

Realizing that she had won, Bathsheba smiled. ''The colony has spoken,'' she said smugly to Frieda before turning back to the entire colony, ''I humbly accept this responsibility.''

Mercury, Chinook, and Ariel hung their heads with a sigh, knowing there was nothing they could do to change it. Frieda was no longer their chief elder.

''Follow me to Hibernaculum!'' Bathsheba soared back into the air and flew out of the main entrance of Stonehold and into the night, followed by the rest of the colony.

Reluctantly Frieda, together with her last few loyal followers took off as well after all the others had already flown out.

* * *

Goth did not want to lose more time merely standing around and urged us to get going. I was happy he let me hang on to Marina's feet instead of insisting that I climb onto Throbb's back like I did during the time we first met. Still, the two meat-eaters were watching us while flying behind us closely. Ready to catch us any second should we just think of trying to escape. I sighed softly, hoping there was a way for us to get rid of them before they would realize we are flying in the wrong direction.

''Hey!'' Shade hissed, after we traveled through the sky for quite a while, getting my and Marinas attention.''

''What is it?'' I asked.

''I think I have an idea. If I keep bluffing Goth, I can buy us more time and then...''

''Are you crazy?'' Marina whispered back, ''It was pure luck he thought you were bluffing in the first place!''

''Exactly, and now that I've got him completely figured out-''

I screamed.

Something had grabbed me by my leg and roughly pulled me away from Marina before Shade could even finish his sentence. I heard him yelling my name, but I couldn't see him or Marina anymore as I was carried away by Goth with high speed. The wind whipped against my head, causing my hair to go wild and into my face. I managed to reach up and got some of it away from my eyes just to see that my captor was flying straight towards the cliffs. ''Whoa, wait!'' I called out, feeling scared he may want to drop me there on the rocks, but instead he flew down towards a cave in the rock face and threw me inside.

I hissed in pain as I slid over the hard ground and landed on my injured arm. I tried to sit up but was forced to lay back down again when Marina's body crashed against me from being tossed into the cave as well by Throbb. ''Urgh!''

''Marina! Vanessa!'' Shade rushed to our side, breathing heavily from flying as fast as he could after the two larger bats.

''We have wasted too much time flying around!'' Goth growled, roosting at the cave's entrance. ''Throbb! Eat the Brightwing.'' Grinning joyfully Throbb flew into the cave and pulled Marina away.

I tried to keep hold of her arm, but she slipped out of my grip due to Throbb's strength.

''No!'' Shade screamed, reaching out for her as well.

''Guys!'' Marina cried out fearfully. I got to my feet and wanted to run to Throbb and stop him from eating her, but my path was blocked by a very pissed of looking Goth.

''Where is your colony?!'' he demanded once more and glared down at Shade.

The young Silverwing struggled to find words to say as I worriedly looked over to Marina. Throbb had opened his jaws wide, ready to bite her head off any second. Marina was pale as snow and desperately tried to move away from him as far as possible. I turned back to Shade for help and saw him clenching his teeth together before crossing his wings before his chest and glaring provocatively at Goth. ''Fine!, ''he eventually said, ''Go ahead! Eat her.''

_''Say what?''_ I blinked at him while Marina let out a gasp as if she couldn't believe what she just heard. Even Throbb pulled away, looking confused.

''Huh?''

''See if I care. Oh, and while you are at it, you can also eat Vanessa as well.

My eyes widen. What the hell was he doing?

Throbb smiled, probably thinking it was ok to eat Marina and opened his jaws back again, now ready to kill her for real. She screamed in horror and struggled in his grasp, but before Throbb could even take a bite Goth quickly shoved a small stick into his cousin's open mouth, causing him to gag in surprise and let go of Marina, clutching his throat. Marina rushed over to us, and we three looked up at Goth who slightly laughed.

''You are up to something, muchacho.''

''No, go ahead!'' Shade insisted. ''I mean, what difference does it make? You're going to eat us, anyway!''

''Ah,'' Goth grinned and leaned closer towards him. ''So you would prefer to be eaten now so that you may spare your colony unless of course, you are thinking that there is something in it for you?''

Shade smirked, ''Yes! That is exactly what I'm thinking.''

_''Ok Shade whatever you are doing I hope it works.'' _I trusted my friend even though I had no idea what crazy plan he had come up with. But whatever it was, it was probably better than nothing.

Goth seemed to be clearly impressed by the Silverwing's boldness. ''A bat who would betray his entire colony to save his own hide.'' He threw his head back and laughed. ''I think the spirit of Zotz is alive in this one, Throbb!''

I frowned thoughtfully. Zotz? For some reason, that name rung a bell, but I couldn't remember where or when I may have heard it before. Looking back at Goth I saw him lightly tickling Shade's cheek with his index claw, causing the boy to shrink back with a disgusted look on his face.

Throbb groaned and sat up, his eyes pleading for Goth to take the stick out of his mouth, but his cousin ignored him and instead kept his attention towards Shade.

''What exactly do you want?'' he calmly asked him.

''I uh ...want…''

''Yes?''

I looked at Shade with my lips pressed together, hoping he would come up with something quick. And eventually, he did, ''I want you to take the three of us to the jungle to live like royalty with Throbb as our servant.''

The fat bat let out a disbelieving grunt and looked at Shade. I also glared at my friend in confusion. Once again Goth broke out in laughter.

''What are you doing?'' Marina hissed at him, sounding like she was beginning to think he went crazy.

Shade just smiled. ''Let me handle this,'' he whispered back, looking confident. I nodded, still trusting him and looked back at Goth who had calmed back down again.

''V-very funny,'' he chuckled but quickly got serious again. ''But I will have to think about it.''

''N-No!'' Shade snapped, pointing at him, ''if you want me to deliver my colony, I need an answer now!''

I blinked, feeling impressed by his bravery.

Goth's smile faded into a scowl as he stared down at the smaller bat's defiant glare. He looked thoughtfully and glanced over at Throbb, who stared back at his cousin with a quizzical expression in his eyes.

Eventually, Goth smirked and crossed his arms. ''You have a deal,'' he declared causing Throbb to look at him in shock.

''Huh?''

Shade nodded in satisfaction and flew out of the cave followed by Goth while Marina jumped into the air to grab me by my hands and lift me off as well. Throbb stared after his cousin and Shade. With a deep growl he shut his jaws with all his might, crushing the twig between his sharp teeth, then shoved his face into mine, looking furious. ''I'll end up serving you three... ''he growled, ''for dinner!'' Quickly I jumped back in fear and grabbed hold on to Marina's feet who then dashed out of the cave with Throbb closely behind us.


	21. Tricks & Drugs

We flew for, what felt like hours, further and further into the wrong direction. Holding on tight to Marina's feet I hoped Goth did not figure out that Shade was actually fooling him before we got to find a way to get rid of him and his cousin. After a few more minutes of flying later, I heard an impatient growl coming from Goth and looked up to see the Vampyrum fly to Shade. Hovering over him like a menacing shadow, he made Shade flinch back and then lead us towards a branch to land. Barely down, he snarled irately and picked Shade up with his claws, squeezing his neck.

''We had a deal! You are still taking too long!''

''G-Goth!'' Shade stammered, ''I...I never migrated before! Maybe I should check my sound map again?''

Worriedly I watched Goth growling at Shade in his grasp. But luckily he seemed to calm back down again and let go of him with a sigh. ''Very well,'' he said and stood up straight. ''I am off to hunt. But! I swear on the soul of Zotz, that if you try to trick me...!'' Goth had almost turned around to leave, but then turned back to face Shade just in time as a colony of bats fluttered past us in the distance.

My eyes widen. Could that be the Silverwings?

''Uh- Hey Goth come on!'' Shade suddenly blurted out, making me look away from the bats ''Let's...uh...hunt together. I-I'm pretty good you know?''

''Really?''

I smiled slightly, knowing what Shade was doing. He kept Goth distracted, so he wouldn't turn around and spot the other bats. Great job. Just what about Throbb? Turning around, I saw that he also wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the sky. What a relief.

Suddenly Goth grinned and leaned closer to Shade, making him chuckled nervously.

''If what you say is true then perhaps you can prove it by killing something for us all to eat, yes?''

''Uh...''

I blinked not having expected that.

Shade looked back to me and Marina, but we just shrug our shoulders, having no idea how to help him. Noticing us fidgeting uncomfortably Goth grinned even more and leaned back towards Shade. ''Unless of course it's just another of your lies, in which case our deal is off, and then we'll take Marina and Vanessa for lunch.'' With a dark chuckle he ran his tongue across his mouth, ''Oh, yes…''

_''W-what?'' _He wouldn't really try to eat me, a human now would he? Unfortunately, the evil glimmer in Goth eyes said yes, yes he would.

''Now what are you waiting for? Go find something to eat. Oh, and better be quick, otherwise, you might come upon only one girl when you come back.''

Goth nodded towards Throbb, who wrapped his wings around Marina, pulling her close with a hungry look on his face. The poor Brightwing was terrified and did not dare to move at all.

Scared I turned to Shade wanting to say something, but he just looked at me apologetically and flew off from the branch. _''Please hurry,''_ I thought while wondering what he will bring back when he returns. There was no way he would or even could hunt something that would satisfy the hunger of two full-grown, meat-eating cannibals.

* * *

''Frieda I can't believe what just happened,'' said Ariel, referring to voting back at Stonehold. She was still quite shocked that the other elder had even suggested such a thing.

''Tsk, Bathsheba has been jealous of Frieda her entire life,'' Mercury explained, looking unhappy about this as well.

Still feeling more loyal to their former leader both bats still accompanying the recently disempowered elder at the rear end of the colony while Chinook had flown ahead to be by his mother, so she wouldn't worry about where he was. None of them had an idea, how close they were to be caught by danger. And also how close they were to reunite with those who got lost. But even though both of them still worried about Vanessa and Shade, Bathsheba was a more important topic for them right now.

''I won't obey her,'' Ariel declared, furrowing her brows, ''I can't.''

''Me neither,'' Mercury agreed, frowning as well.

''Now listen to me, both of you,'' Frieda said sternly and looked at them, ''Bathsheba was in her right as an elder to call for that vote. The colony spoke, and we must obey by that.''

Ariel tried to protest: ''But Frieda we can't respect...'' But the former leader decided not to listen to any more of this and flew ahead leaving the other two behind.

''What are we going to do now?'' she asked Mercury, hoping he would have an idea but the male just shook his head.

''I fear there is nothing we can do Ariel, except pray for Nocturna to make things right again.'' With that, he flew ahead towards the front of the colony in case his scouting skills were needed. The young female watched him for a moment then flew closer to the colony as well.

* * *

Shortly after Shade left to hunt in the woods, Goth slipped away into the forest himself without saying why and ordered Throbb to keep an eye on me and Marina.

For a moment I hoped Shade would return right away and trick Throbb like he did the last time so we could all escape from here. Without Goth around it probably would have worked. Unfortunately, he did not come back which left me and Marina no choice but to stay here and wait.

After a while my stomach reported itself by giving a loud grumbling sound. I put my hands on my belly and grimaced at the empty feeling inside of me. It's been a while since I last ate and it made me feel sick. I hated that. If only there were a few berries around for me to eat. I glanced around and happily found a bush full with juicy raspberries at the foot of the tree we were on.

Only question was: How could I get down without Throbb noticing? The fat Vampyrum was standing right between me and the trunk. And the branch was definitely far too high for me to jump down. ...Speaking of high... Urgh! Why did I just look down? 

_''Just stay in the middle ... So it's fine ... Don't move too close to the side!...''_

Nervously I shifted around on the spot, trying to think of something that would distract me a little.

_''Can't Shade hurry up already? I want to get down from here as soon as possible!''_  
  
''Señorita, ¿Tiene que ir al baño?''

''Eh...What?'' Puzzled I looked at Throbb without understanding what he was talking about.

The Vampyrum rolled his eyes. ''I asked if you need to use the bathroom? You're fidgeting the whole time, like you really need to go.''

''Oh,'' I said and felt myself blushing a little, ''Uh, no I don't need to. I'm just ...'' Again my stomach started growling. This time a bit louder than before. ''I'm just hungry, that's all.''

''Then eat something,'' Throbb replied as if it was that simple, ''But stay around! I don't want to get in trouble with Goth just because one of you decided to run away.'' With a huff, he crossed his wings before his chest and looked away again. Apparently, he thought he was the only one who couldn't get his food in an easy way.

''But Throbb, Vanessa has no wings. How is gonna get down from here?''

Throbb blinked at Marina in confusion then turned back to me. ''Oh, right,'' he said, sounding like he just remembered that I wasn't a bat like them. Honestly, how could he even forget this at all?

Anyway, he sighed in annoyance and walked over to me. ''Alright Señorita what do you need?''

I gulped, not liking him to be so close to me, but at least he was looking less intimidating then Goth.

''A few of those raspberries down there would be nice,'' I pointed downstairs to the bush on the ground and watched Throbb looking down with a frown on his face. ''But you don't need to bring them to me. Really. Just let Marina carry me to the ground so I can pick them myself.'' I looked over and shared a short glance with the Brightwing.

''Uh, yeah. It won't take long. Two-three berries should be enough for her eat. We will be back in a minute, you will see.'' Marina got airborne and flew over to me to grab my hands with her feet. Throbb didn't say anything so I thought we really believed our words. He also didn't stop us as Marina flew down from the branch. As promised she headed for the raspberry bush, but did not slow down the closer we got. Instead she speed up a little and got ready to dash into the woods as Throbb flashed right in front of us, blocking our way.

''Where do you think you are going? The berries are right there!'' He frowned at us angrily and nodded towards the raspberry bush.

''Uh,..we...''

''What? I thought you were hungry?''

I nodded with a gulp and let Marina land me down on the ground. Unfortunately, it seemed that Throbb wasn't as stupid as we thought he was. Which meant we had to think of another way to escape before his cousin returned. However, not wanting to make Throbb less suspicious about me

and to finally ease my hunger, I plucked a very juicy looking raspberry and took a big bite from it, liking its taste.

''Bon appetit, Señorita!''

I coughed startled, nearly choking on the piece in my mouth. I spit it back out, feeling lucky it didn't slip into the wrong direction in my throat and turned around. Right behind me stood Goth. He was grinning down at me in amusement and had his wings wrapped around his body like a huge cloak._ ''When did he come back?'' _I wondered. Feeling sure I didn't hear any wings flapping or maybe I just didn't pay enough attention.

The Vampyrum grinned at me some more, then turned around to Throbb, who stood behind Marina with his claws gripping her shoulders to prevent her from running away. ''Has Shade returned yet?''

Throbb shook his head. ''Not yet.''

''Hm..'' Contemplative-looking, Goth stared up towards the horizon as if checking the time. ''It's getting late. If he doesn't return within half an hour, we may have to eat the Brightwing first.''

''No!'' I screamed while Marina looked at Goth in shock.

Throbb chuckled and hungrily licked his lips. He looked more than ready to dig his sharp teeth into Marina's soft skin. All he needed was a sign from Goth.

''Don't! Shade will be here any minute.''

The shorter Vampyrum stopped in his tracks and stared into the woods as if expecting to see Shade flying over any second now. But even after a few minutes, there was still no sign of Shade.

Goth chuckled: ''Well, Señoritas you better say goodbye to each other now. It doesn't look like your amigo is coming back tonight.''

''Shade would never abandon us.''

''Yeah,'' I said, agreeing with Marina and frowned at the prince, ''You're just way too impatient!''

Goth growled and grabbed me by my neck, causing me to gack and gasp for air. ''I would better watch my mouth if I were you human,'' he spat the word out like a disgusting bug, ''Otherwise, I might consider eating you first instead of your Brightwing friend here.''

I wrapped my arms around Goth's and tried to make him lose his grip on my neck, but he just kept squeezing it tighter, hurting me. I used my left hand to scratch him with my nails, but of course, that was no use.

''Now, what have we here?'' He let go of my neck and instead grabbed my left arm, spotting my leaf-bandage and roughly tore it off, revealing the healing wound underneath. I fearfully watched him grinning again wickedly while looking at my wound. ''Oh, right I remember,'' he said, still holding me, ''A little remembrance of our ... ''dissension'' back at the fire towers.'' With his thumb claw, he traced over the wound, scratching a few pieces of scab off, causing it to bleed then pulled me closer to him. ''Listen! The next time you get on my nerves you won't get away with a few scratches, ¿Entendiste?''

I nodded quickly, understanding his warning and stumbled to the ground after Goth pushed me away. Just then we heard a pair of wings fluttering closer and looked up to see Shade finally coming back, but without food.

''Uhh.. I think the prey must be scarce in this part of the forest,'' he said and landed on the ground before Goth.

The Vampyrum prince chuckled at the boy and took a deep breath, ''I thought you might say that. That is why I took it upon myself to bring you this…'' He unfurled his large wings and pulled out a small creme-colored rabbit by its ears.

I was shocked. So that's where he went off to earlier. He went hunting himself. And just like a mother cat who wants to teach her kittens to hunt, he brought the prey back alive and dropped it right before Shade's feet. 

''Kill the rabbit,'' he demanded, ''Now!” 

But Shade didn't move. He just stared speechlessly at Goth then back down at the rabbit, who looked too terrified to run. It only stared at Shade with wide-opened eyes and trembled in fear.  
  
Noticing his hesitation Goth scoffed, ''Heh, I thought as much,'' he shook his gead and crossed his arms, glaring at Shade, ''You have no intention of leading us to your colony. You have lied to save yourself some more time. Well now, your time has run out.''

I let out a gasp when Goth grabbed Shade tightly by his throat, lifting him up, while Throbb smiled evilly and leaned down, ready to take a bite out of Marina. 

''I-I'll gladly kill this rabbit, Goth!'' Shade quickly replied and wrapped his own claws around the one that was squeezing his neck. ''It's just that here in the northern forest, we have a custom of beginning every meal with ... .... .... a salad!''

_''Eh, what?''_

I raised my eyebrow in confusion and looked back over to Marina and Throbb. According to her expression, my Brightwing friend probably thought just like I that Shade had gone crazy while Throbb just blinked and slowly repeated that last word, like learning something new.  
He obviously never heard of something like a salad before. Like Goth, who also looked quite puzzled while losing his grip on Shade.

The Silverwing quickly flew over to a bush, covered in red leaves with thick veins. ''How do you think we stay warm in all this cold?'' he asked and plucked a few of them off. I still wondered how this was going to help us but then I looked a bit closer at those leaves and eventually recognized the sleeping herb. _''Oh, Shade. You are a genius!''_ I thought joyfully and tried hard not to smile by starting to chew on my underlip, while Shade dropped the leaves in Goth and Throbb's hands.

The taller Vampyrum looked quite sceptical at the ''salad'' in his hands and turned to his cousin, waiting for him to try them first. Feeling less suspicious than him Throbb simply stuffed the leaves into his mouth without thinking twice about it.  
  
''Hmm, not bad.''

''A custom you say?'' Goth asked as Shade landed back on the ground, ''Keeps you warm?''

Cautiously he took a small bite out of a leaf and chewed it thoroughly. Believing it was fine to eat he ate the rest as well.

''There, I honored your custom,'' he growled after swallowing the last of the leaves, ''Now kill the rabbit!''

''No!'' I gasped while Marina covered her mouth.

Not wanting to make Goth angrier than he already was, Shade leaned over the rabbit and opened his jaws, sharp fangs glinting in the night, ready to bite. The poor fella had no idea that the boy was just acting. It looked so scared that I feared it would either die of a heart attack or faint any second. I looked back up at Goth, wondering how long until the active substance in the leaves would unfold their effect when suddenly I heard a groan coming from Throbb.

All of us turned around to see the fat, teal-colored bat wobbling back and forth and then falling to his knees. His eyelids were half-closed as he drowsily slurred, ''Oh ...I don't feel so good.''

Goth gasped at his sight and took a step back, looking at Shade with wide-opened eyes. He blinked twice and rubbed his eyes trying to focus. Seizing the moment, Shade released the rabbit, allowing it to run away. I anxiously waited for both cannibals to fall asleep when Throbb gave out a final groan before finally slumping to the ground, fast asleep. Goth, however, was still on his feet but looking at the red bush and his cousin, he realized what was going on. ''He has tricked us!'' he exclaimed and hold back a yawn. He almost tumbled to the ground, but managed to keep himself awake.

With an angry roar, he swiped down at Shade. Just in time, the Silverwing flew out of the way, leaving a deep cut in the earth from where Goth slashed the ground with his claws. I almost shrieked as he focused his attention on me. With a snarl he towered above me, his claws raised up high, ready to kill me right on the spot. Luckily, both Marina and Shade quickly flew over and grabbed each of my hands with their feet and carried me out of the way. Right then Goth yawned once again and fell to his knees. Not being able to fight back any longer the cannibal finally flopped down to the ground. With joy we watched him reaching out for us one last time before drifting off into a deep slumber.

''Quick thinking on the leaves Shade,'' Marina complimented with a giggle.

Shade smiled. ''Thanks, let's get out of here.'' He let go of my arm so Marina could hold me alone and then lead us away from the two sleeping beauties.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a completely different part of the forest, General Brutus was thinking about battle strategies against all bats in the north and particularly the Silverwing colony of the lawbreaker Shade.

''If we move the seventh squadron here to the valley...''

With his wingtip he drew a line on his makeshift plan drawn in the snow with some nuts and looked up to see his son standing a few feet away, staring off into the distance.

''Orestes!'' he called out, ''are you paying attention?''

The young owl rolled his eyes with a sigh, ''Why?'' he asked, ''War is pointless, father. I believe the answer lies in diplomacy.''

The general raised his eyebrow at his son's utterance and turned away with a huff. Owlets these days! He really liked to know how he got to such a pacifist for a son? Back when he was his age he had eagerly listened to his father's battle plans and even came up with a few ideas of his own. But Orestes... _''He really takes too much after his mother.'' _Brutus let out a deep sigh and then turned around as the sound of wings caught his attention. Looking ahead, he noticed Lieutenant Atlas landing down beside him.

''General Brutus, I've come to report that operation retributive justice was successfully executed.''

Hearing this, Orestes eyes widen. He knew exactly what operation R. J. meant and he couldn't believe his father seriously commanded it. But unlike him, Brutus was pleased by this message and smiled. ''Excellent. Any signs of the Silverwings?''

Atlas shook his head. ''No, sir.''

Brutus frowned. ''Whatever, we will find them sooner or later. For now, send a squadron over to the southwest area. We shall look for them there.''

''Yes, sir.''

''Uh, dad. May I be excused to go back to my studies? I've noticed a rather interesting looking arachnid on that tree over there and I...''

''Fine!'' snapped Brutus, getting irritated by his sons love for useless insects and flew off with his Lieutenant. Left behind Orestes waited until they both were mere points in the sky and then quickly flew off into the other direction. He needed to find his friends as soon as possible.


	22. Operation R. J.

''Are you sure your colony was headed this way?'' Marina asked skeptically as we flew over the forest. The weather was getting much colder by now. And it was no doubt that winter was almost here. I felt glad that I was wearing my warm native American outfit instead of a simple leaf dress. Otherwise, I would have soon frozen to death in no time.

''Positive,'' Shade assured us with confidence, causing Marina to sigh.

''Then we're not out of trouble yet.''

I wondered what she meant by that, but then I looked up and set my eyes upon a majestically high mountain before us covered in snow. The view was incredible, but I didn't like the idea of flying over that. Especially since it seemed to be hundreds of miles up into the sky where it would be definitely a lot colder than in it was already down here.

''Shade are you sure that this is the right way?'' Marina asked as we took roost on a tree at the foot of the mountain, ''Because as far as I know, my colony doesn't migrate over any mountains.''

''Well, Maybe mine does.''

''And maybe we will fly up there and freeze our fur off.''

Shade sighed impatiently, ''Look, Goth and Throbb could wake up any second... I'll look in my sound-map. That should get us back on track.''

Marina nodded, still looking worried about this and fiddled with her band.

I also put my hand on my own wrist and for a moment I was surprised why it was uncovered. But then I remembered that Goth had torn the bandage off earlier while treating me to do much worse the next time he gets his teeth into my skin. I gulped not liking to think about this and pulled my arm closer to my chest. To make matters worse, my wrist also started to itch now, and it was hard to resist the urge to scratch.

Finally, Shade opened his eyes back up again. ''We definitely fly up that mountain,'' he explained, ''We go past the trees and then…uh...then we fly through a wolf's ears?''

_''Uh what?''_

''Are you out of your roost?!'' Marina tapped at her head with her claw. ''A wolf's not a landmark!''

''But it is what my mother sang to me.''

''It's pretty much useless,'' she snapped, ''It means nothing, except your mother wanted you to get killed.''

''H-hey that's not ...''

''Guys would you please, stop arguing. It doesn't help,'' I said and looked at them both, ''Let's focus more on our way to Hibernaculum. I mean we know we headed for mountains. So we just need to keep ongoing and hope Shade recognizes the right place. And think about it, should Goth and Throbb wake up and follow our trail they won't last long up there in the cold.''

''True, but neither will we,'' Marina said.

I got silent again and nodded, knowing she was right.

''Come on, guys we better go. Dawn is coming soon,'' Shade flew back up with me dangling under his feet and Marina following us right behind.

* * *

After a long and hard flight, the Silverwings crossed the icy mountains without any difficulties and landed on the power lines over a freeway that passed through the mountains for a short but well-needed rest.

Bathsheba thought this was the good moment to gloat over her triumph in front of Frieda.

''Well, here we are. Safely over the pass without incident, I might add,'' she said without even trying to hide that smugly grin on her face. ''As you can see my leadership is paying off.''

''The colony has voted. We must follow Bathsheba,'' Ariel said and Frieda, who roosted next to her, nodded in agreement. Mercury and Chinook, however, were not so happy about this. Chinook even shook his head, showing his disagreement. He would like it better if Frieda was still the chief elder of their colony but for now, it was Bathsheba, and he couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

''Trust me Marina all this stuff is on the sound-map. Those rocks...eh...these threes...''

''Yeah but no wolves. If that's even what we are looking for?'' She flew down to another tree and hung upside down from its branch, ''It still doesn't make sense. No bat would fly between a wolfs ears.'' Shade said nothing and just landed me on top of the branch before roosting next to Marina. ''Face it Shade, either your sound-map is wrong or you've- huh!'' Suddenly she gasped and I looked down wondering what was wrong.

At first, I saw nothing but then I noticed something big in the air before us. However, I couldn't figure out what it was. The image was just too blurry to make out a certain shape. And...wait! Did I just heard a wolf growling? Seconds later the image was gone, and I blinked a few times, wondering what just happened.

''Nice try Shade,'' Marina said with a chuckle, ''keep practicing that echo projection you may fool somebody yet.''

My eyes lit up hearing her say this. Did I just saw a real echo projection? How was this possible? I'm a human I shouldn't be able to that. Then again... didn't Zephyr said that I might be able to see echos as well after a bit of practice?! But I didn't remember doing something that would have helped me in this case so what's going on here?

Marina looked up at the horizon. ''Guys I think we should find a place to sleep. It's almost sunrise.

Shade swung himself back up on the branch and climbed around on the tree until he found what he was looking for. ''Here is a knothole. We can spend the day inside there.

Marina nodded and grabbed me by my hands to fly me over to the entrance then crawled inside, followed by me and Shade.

* * *

The next evening I woke up, hearing Shade crying out in alarm.

''Guys, you have to come out and see this. Something is wrong. Terribly wrong.''

''W-what are you talking about Shade?'' I asked drowsily and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Shade hopped over and grabbed my arm, pulling me up to my feet, ''You need to see this Its..its... I don't know just come!'' Grudgingly I followed him to the entrance.

''There do you see it?''

I rubbed my eyes again and peaked outside. It was like the whole world was transformed over the day. Yesterday the grass was all green with colorful leaves here and there in piles on the ground. But now everything looked like it was covered in a thick white blanket. And so bright.

Glowing in the moonlight the snow formed hills on the bases of the trees and cloaking the branches, so they look soft and fat. It was beautiful. But where was the problem Shade was talking about?

''Do you see it Vanessa?'' Shade asked me again.

I frowned and looked closer around but couldn't spot anything odd.

''See what Shade? There is nothing!''

''Of course there is,'' he said with annoyance, ''It's pretty much everywhere.''

I still didn't get what he meant and looked more around.

Woken up by our talking Marina soon joined us as well.

''Guys, do you have to be so loud?'' she yawned, ''The sun barely set and you two wake up the whole forest.''

''Marina something is wrong here! Look at all this...white stuff.''

_''White Stuff? ... Moment!''_

Shade anxiously looked around and pointed to the snow on the branch. ''It's everywhere,'' he continued and then frowned, clenching his fists, ''Oh, I'm sure the owls are behind this. They're trying to divert us from our course by changing the environment. But we will not let that pass. Come on, we...''

''Shade, what in Nocturna's name are you babbling about?''

''Wait, I think I got it,'' I said before he could even open his mouth. ''Shade the ''the white stuff'' you are talking about the whole time ... is called snow. And is has absolutely nothing to do with the owls.''

The Silverwing looked at me blankly. ''W-what?''

''Yeah, she is right. It's like rain but more ... compact. And totally harmless.''

Shade kept looking between me and Marina. ''So you are meaning to tell me that this stuff is normal and has nothing to ... gah!'' Carefully reaching forward to touch a pile of snow on the branch, Shade suddenly jumped back when a tiny snowflake landed on his nose tip, followed by thousands of others. Softly they fell from the sky and danced along towards the ground.

''Ok, this is definitely your first winter Shade,'' Marina chuckled.

Shade grumbled a bit in embarrassment.

''It's alright,'' I tried to reassure him while trying not to laugh, ''There is always a first time for everything.

''Have you ever seen snow before Vanessa?''

''Yes, but it's been a while. We don't get snow that often where I'm from,'' I explained.

''Speaking of,'' Marina said, ''You never told us where exactly you are from?''

''Oh, well, my home country is far away from here in the east. You'd need to cross the ocean to get there.''

They both looked at me in amazement. ''The ocean?''

''Lots of water. More than in a lake or the sea.''

''Wow!''

''If it's so far,'' Marina frowned thoughtfully, ''How did you manage to get here?''

''We humans have our ways to cross long distances in a short among of time and with less effort as possible.''

''Oh, you mean like those flying machines?''

I nodded. ''Yep, just like those. We call them planes by the way and one of those brought me up north.''

''I see,'' Shade said.

I smiled a bit then turned to Marina, hearing a soft growl coming from her stomach.

''Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm starving. I say we grab some bugs and then be on our way. It's a long flight up to the top of the mountains.

''Sure but what are we going to eat Marina? I don't see or hear any insects around.''

She smiled at him. ''Don't worry, there is still food. Come on, I'll show you.'' And with that she flew off from the roost and then landed on the ground near the roots of an elm. Shade followed her quickly and carried me along with him. At Marina's side he gently dropped me into the snow and landed as well.

The snow itself wasn't very deep. Or at least it wouldn't be for my original size. In my shrunken form however, the snow went up to my knees. And was very cold. Brrr. Why couldn't that doll in Marina's Island wear pants instead of a skirt? I tried my best to ignore the cold and moved over to my friend to see what they were looking at.

''See that?'' Marina asked and pointed down at some specks of dirt in the smooth snow. But when I looked closer, I noticed some of them moving or rather leaping around.

''Those are snow fleas,'' Marina explained, ''There are usually a lot of them during this time of the year.''

Both bats fluttered from tree to tree, snapping up fleas and other insects like beetles and ants, the cocoon of a moth and a sack of a praying mantis eggs hanging from a twig and poking out through the snow. I was glad to see them gathering enough food for themselves. But what was I supposed to eat? With all the snow it was hard to find any berries that I could eat. The ones I did find were either frozen or not edible.

_''I hope I will find some food for me soon,''_ I thought with concern, _''Otherwise I'll be forced to eat insect if I don't wish to starve.''_

A few moments later my friends landed back by me on the snow, looking full and happy.

''You are amazing.'' Shade looked at Marina with admiration sparkling in his eyes.

She laughed. ''It's just your first winter. So you didn't know.''

''How did you learn all this stuff?''

The smile on Marina's face vanished, and she looked away. ''My parents taught me.''

Shade and I looked at each other and I could see that he was sorry for reminding her of the family she had lost.

''Uhm, your parents must be nice bats if they taught you so much,'' I said and regretted it at the same time because I feared I dug deeper into the wound. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind and even smiled a bit again.

''Yeah, my mother was always very kind to me and others. My father, on the other hand, was more of a strict character,'' she said.

''I see.''

Marina sighed. ''He was also ... among the males who were supposed to chase me away after I got my band.''

I nodded and then glanced around, looking for something to change the topic with. Then a snowflake landed on my nose, causing me to sneeze. Marina chuckled softly, seeing this and jumped back into the air. ''Hey, let's see which one of us can catch the most snowflakes.''

''Alright!'' Shade grinned and followed after her with me grabbing his feet.

All three of us laughed and giggled as we flew between the dancing snowflakes.

* * *

Cold, hungry, and extremely pissed off, Goth and Throbb had woken up from their short nap and were now following the faint scent of Shade and his friends.  
Unlike them, they did not appreciate the beauty of the falling snow. Goth rather cursed it in the name of the almighty Zotz.  
Nevertheless, he would not give up. No matter how cold he felt he would keep on flying until he got those pathetic pipsqueaks in his grasps. And then he would rip out their hearts and eat them one by one.

* * *

Not much later the weather changed and our fun little game came to an end.  
The initial soft snowfall quickly turned into a heavy storm. The wind howled in my ears, nearly throwing the hood off my head and I noticed how difficult it became for Shade and Marina to fly through the relentless blizzard.

''Okay ... this isn't fun anymore,'' Shade said. Marina nodded and then hissed like she was in pain or something.

''This band is stinging my arm,'' she said glaring at it, ''My colony was right., this thing is a curse.'' She looked back at us her face softens a little. ''Maybe we should turn back.''

''We can't give up now Marina,'' Shade grunted and tried his best to keep flying against this ruthless storm. I shook my head and tried to get some snow off my face that landed on me. I would have used one of my hands to wipe it off but then I'd probably lost my grip on Shades feet. Something I didn't want to risk in such weather. It was difficult enough for me to hang on to him with both of my hands.

''She is right. We need to stop. There is no way we can make it through the snowstorm.''

''Now, come on guys the next landmark is probably just a few wingbeats ahead.''

''But we won't be able to see it in this mess,'' Marina said.

''Shade, please have you forgotten what happened to us the last time we flew through a storm? This is ten times worse.''

Shade looked down at me as well as he could and tried to protest again as a heavy gust of snow seized us, throwing us away.

''SHADE! VANESSA!'' Marina called out and quickly dashed after us. I shut my eyes and felt myself swirling around. Quickly I lost any sense of direction, could not tell what was up and what was down anymore. To make things worse, I lost my grip on Shade's feet and was now falling towards the ground like a big hailstone.

Eventually, my body hit the ground, and I immediately sunk into a huge pile of soft, cold snow. There I kept lying for a few seconds to catch my breath and to calm myself down from the shock before I climbed back to the surface. Brr, the snow felt ice cold and I once again cursed the doll back at Marinas island for not having any mittens on. I could have really used them right now. However, frozen fingers or not, I knew I couldn't stay there and continued to climb out of the snow.

When I was back up again I first noticed that the storm was as bad as before, making it quite difficult to see through it.  
Where were Shade and Marina? ''GUYS?'' I tried calling out for them through the storm. ''SHADE...MARINA. WHERE ARE YOU?'' No answer.

I got up to my feet and took a few steps through the snow while holding one arm up to my face in order to shield my face from the wind and the snow.  
Something hard caused me to trip, as my foot stepped against it and I sprawled right back into the snow. ''Uff!'' ''_Just great. What was that?_ ''I thought and got back up on my knees, holding my left arm. Thanks my fall the wound started to hurt me again, but at least it wasn't bleeding.

Wondering what caused me to trip, I turned around to see what it was. At first, I thought it was a twig. But that didn't feel right. Also, there seemed to be something thin and wide hanging underneath it. A flag? No too small. But maybe a child's toy or something.

I gently ran my fingers over the strange twig and noticed a part that looked like a piece had broken off from it. Weird. For some reason that reminded me of something. But what?

''Hmm...'' I brushed off some snow to get a better look as I noticed the other end of the thing looking a bit tattered like it was forcefully ripped off from something. Also, there was something white sticking out of it. Not snow more like ... Bone! I felt like my heart stopped for a moment as I glanced down on what was lying before me. Fearing the worst I shoveled more snow out of the way, not caring about the cold and stared with horror at what was lying before me.

This was indeed no twig. It was a wing. A bat's wing. Dead and brutally ripped off from its owner. But what shocked me more was that I knew who it once belonged too: Abraham Greywing. The same old bat my friends and I encountered before our arrival in the city. The one who said Marina and I would only bring bad luck if we were to travel with them. Only because one of us had a band, and the other was a human. What on earth happened to him to lose his wing? And what about his colony?

A shiver went through my spine as the cold wind blew against my clothes. Like in trance, I slowly turned around, having a terrible feeling in my guts and immediately regretted it. Everywhere around where wings and other body parts of bats. Snagged on spiky branches and scattered over the snow. And they were all Greywings. Thousands of them. Males, females, adults and even young pups.

Not able to avoid my gaze on what I saw I didn't notice my friends landing behind me, calling my name.

''Vanessa! Oh thanks Nocturna, you are alright.'' Marina said with relief and hugged me tightly. ''I thought something had happened to you and Shade after the storm blew you two away.''

''Where is Shade?''

''He's here with me,'' Marina said, finally letting go of me, ''He managed to get himself back into the air before the wind could throw him onto a nearby tree ...ehm.. say, Vanessa is something wrong? You look so pale. What happened?''

I didn't give her an answer and just kept staring at the gruesome scene before us. ''I'm fine,'' I said hoarsely, ''But they aren't.'' I pointed ahead and Marina turned around confused and then gasped in terror at the gruesome sight before us.

''W-what...?''

''Owls,'' Shade said grimly as he landed between us ''Lots of them.''  
Like hypnotized I averted my eyes from dead bodies and looked down to see hundreds of white and brown feathers spread all over the ground.  
I gulped. Those Greywings. There were just on their way to their winter roost and the owls attacked them. Why? Because of that stupid proclamation from that stupid General.

To make it even worse, it didn't even look like the owls came to eat them. They just broke their necks, threw them against the trees or tore off their wings while they were still alive, leaving them to die in the snow.

''They probably didn't know anything,'' Shade said choking at his words, ''Nothing about the closed sky and the owls just came along and ... slaughtered them.''

''I hate Goth and Throbb,'' growled Marina with tears sparkling in her eyes, ''This is their fault too. If they hadn't killed those stupid pigeons, this wouldn't have happened.''

I had a feeling something like this would happen, but I had hoped all bats would make it to their winter roosts before the owls closed the sky and that they would be safe. At least for the winter. But not these Greywings. Who knew how far the owl messengers had spread the word and how many bats already befall the same fate. What if it were the Silverwings?

As if thinking the same Shade grounded his jaws together and clenched his fists. ''I wish I were like Goth,'' he said, ''I'd kill them all. I really would. I'd just kill them...''

Marina walked over to him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. ''We should get away from here. They might come back.''

''I want them to come back,'' he raged, ''I want to get one just one of them. I...'' he suddenly started sobbing and his words merged together. After a moment he managed to calm himself down and clenched his whole body until he stopped shaking. He took a ragged breath and looked away. ''I'm sorry.''

Marina shook her head. ''For what?'' she said wiping away her own tears, ''But we really should go now.''

Shade nodded sadly. ''Yeah.''

He got airborne and wordlessly flew over to me to grab my hands with his feet once again before following Marina back into the sky. I forced myself not to look back on the dead bats and felt tears of my own, forming in my eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Silverwings had made their way through the mountains and were now roosting close to an airport.

''This field has always been off-limits,'' Mercury insisted, hanging across Bathsheba, Ariel, Chinook and Frieda, ''The human flying machines are too dangerous.''

''You are my scout!'' Bathsheba hissed angrily at him, ''How dare you question me?!''

''You were the one who said we should stay on the migration route.'' Ariel said frowning, earning a deadly glare from her leader.

''I'll deal with your insolence later. In the meantime, you will all follow me.'' And with that, she flew off from her roost and let the colony over the fence and into the dangerous airport.

Frieda let out a deep, doubtingly sigh before flying after the colony, followed by Ariel, Mercury and Chinook.

* * *

We kept flying for what felt like hours. The storm was still there and made it difficult for us to stay on course.

''Guys we can't keep this on. We need to roost and wait for the storm to end.'' Marina shouted over the howling wind.

''Alright, but where?''

Good question. With all the snow blowing around it was hard to find a cave or a tree to land on. But then I spotted something in the distance. A lone, little chalet, covered in snow At first, I thought it was just a mirage but when I looked closer as far as I could, I was sure it was real. ''Guys over there!'' I said loudly while pointing at the hut with my foot. Both bats flew over to the snowed roof and circled around the chimney.

''I don't know. You really think it's safe?'' Marina asked skeptically, ''What if there are humans inside?''

''There are no lights in the windows and no smoke coming from the chimney. It must be empty.'' I told her.

''We need to risk it. We will freeze to death if we stay in this cold any longer.'' With that Shade flew down into the chimney, closely followed by Marina until we came out of the dusty fireplace.

After landing on the ground we began brushing off the snow on our fur and clothes, shivering. ''Brr.'' Marina scooped off some snow from her wing as her band shimmered slightly as she did so. Suddenly there was a whisper coming from above. ''One of us,'' it said, ''one of us.''

I stiffed, feeling crept out a bit and moved closer to my friends. ''What's going on?'' I asked quietly.''

Shade shook his head and grabbed my arm. ''No idea, but I think we better leave.''

''Wait!'' Marina hissed.

The sound of wings rustling came from all around us now. And then another voice near the ceiling said: ''Yes, she's one of us.''

Then another in the far end of the room: ''You are right. She is one of us!''

Shade, Marina and I looked at each other in total confusion, before Shade grasped me by the hands and flew up with Marina to the top of a bookshelf.

''Who's there?'' Marina demanded to know over the growing voices, causing them to calm down a little. What happened next astonished us all together


	23. Nocturna's Promise

The ceiling, the walls and nearly every corner in the chalet was filled with hundreds of bats.  
Bats from different colonies. There were Silverwings, Greywings, Brownwings, Brightwings and many more. Bats with black faces and small mouse-shaped noses, pale bats with funny looking large ears, bats with long multicolored fur and bats with huge snouts, dappled fur and small sad eyes.

A bunch of them detached themselves from their roosting place and fluttered around us with a warm smile on their faces and I noticed something that they all had in common. They were all banded.

''I can't believe it.'' Marina breathed with excitement, watching the bats.

Then a female with brown fur and red hair landed next to us on the bookshelf.  
''Hi, I'm Betty,'' she greeted us friendly, ''What's your name?''

''I'm Marina,'' Marina said and pointing at herself then motioned towards Shade and me, ''and these are Shade and Vanessa. ... Hey, you are a Brightwing.''  
Betty nodded, chuckling softly. ''They used to call me Penelope,'' she said.

Marina gasped and walked closer to her. ''Penelope Brightwing? You are from my colony! The elders told us you were dead; that your band was bad luck.''

''Your elders lied Marina, they were ignorant and superstitious.'' we looked up and noticed another bat landing among us. This one was a large adult male with green fur and impressive long ears. ''I'm Scirocco,'' he said smiling, ''Welcome.''

I couldn't help noticing that his greeting was directed mainly at Marina while he gave Shade just a short nod and ignored me completely. Well, this could be because I was kinda hiding behind my friends with my hood covering my face. So he probably didn't see me at all. But still ...

Scirocco walked over to Marina and gently took her by the hand, eyeing her band.  
''Hmm, yes ... very nice. And it's new.''

''The humans banded me in the spring,'' Marina said smiling.

''And do you know the importance of it? Do you know it's part of Nocturna's Promise?''

Marina looked over to us, then looked down with a sad sigh.

''What's the matter?'' Betty asked.

''I used to think that,'' she breathed, ''I really thought my band was special, but then we met those giant southern bats.''

''They're cannibals from the jungle!'' Shade interrupted her quickly, ''And they have bands too.''

There was an instant turmoil among the banded bats and everyone chattered with fear about what they just heard.

''Oh, no!''

''Cannibals!''

''How can that be?''

Scirocco, however, didn't seem to be alarmed like the rest. Instead, he looked back at Marina with a calm expression on his face. ''Ah- but did they have bands like these?'' he asked, pointing at his own silver band, shining on his left wrist.

''No, they aren't shiny like ours,'' Marina replied, looking down on her own band.

''Obviously, those bands aren't part of the great plan.'' Scirocco placed his claws together, smiling haughtily.

I exchanged a short look with Shade. Both of us wondering what this guy was talking about. But Marina was immediately hooked.

''Plan? What plan?'' she asked excitedly.

''All in good time, Marina.''

''There is a plan? Tell me. Please,'' Marina begged and I have to admit that I was also interested to know the secrets of the promise of a goddess I barely knew much about. Betty also seemed eager to tell Marina about Nocturna's plan and looked up at Scirocco, who nodded shortly, allowing her to speak.

''The humans banded us as part of Nocturna's Promise to return as to the light. We're going to reclaim the day as humans.''

_''Say what?''_ I was dumbfounded._ ''Humans? Seriously?''_

''Hold on a wingbeat. You're gonna turn into humans?'' Shade asked raising an eyebrow in confusion.''

Penelope nodded. ''The transformation has already begun.'' Shade huffed and rolled his eyes in disbelieve.

''Let me prove it to you,'' said Scirocco before swooping down from the bookshelf onto the wooden floor. Around us, the banded bands began chattering with excitement.

''He's gonna do it.''

''The transformation!''

''He's going to transform!''

Scirocco stood before the cold fireplace and ambled back into the darkness while the bats started to chant in chorus.

''Transform ... transform ... transform ...'' Repeating it over and over. It kinda reminded me of some sort of weird cult and their creepy rituals. The banded bats kept singing with excitement and to my shock, I noticed that Marina was now singing too. Her eyes were focusing the fireplace with aspiration, and she made no sign that showed she still perceived that Shade and I were still here as well. She was totally hypnotized by their singing which got louder and louder. Then it suddenly stopped and out of the fireplace came a bat-sized human male with dark skin and abnormally large ears. He was wearing a yellow basketball tricot and yellow shorts while holding a little basketball under his left arm.

I gasped softly not believing my eyes. This can't be. I thought and looked closer. The human on the floor looked up at us with a confident smile on his face. But there was something odd.  
I blinked thinking I was seeing things but no. When I looked back at it again, I could clearly see that the tiny human was flickering like a hologram. I hummed and looked suspiciously at all the bats around in the room. There was certainly something fishy going on here. I felt it in my guts.

The human went back into the fireplace again and this time Scirocco flew out, looking like his normal bat-self and flew back to us on the bookshelf.

''That was unbelievable,'' Marina breathed.

''You said it,'' Shade agreed but the sound of his voice told me he meant it differently.

''I always knew the humans had a plan for us.''

''What?'' Shade exclaimed and I also could not believe what she just said.'' He grabbed Marina by the shoulder and pulled her towards him.

''Marina, he echo projected that human.''

''No, it was real,'' Marina insisted, glaring at him, ''It wasn't all blurry like your echo projection.''

''Hey, I'm still learning,'' Shade protested, looking hurt by her words.

''He's right, Marina," I whispered, trying to talk some sense into her. ''The human was not real. It may have looked that way, but it was definitely a fake.''

''How do you know if it was fake or not? You aren't even able to see echoprojections at all. And that you saw the human just proves how real it is.''

''Yeah, but...''

Marina turned back to the leader of the banded bats not wanting to listen to Shade or me anymore.

''Join us,'' Scirocco said, looking at her kindly, ''Wait with us for the coming of the light. It won't be long.''

''Yes, stay!'' came a voice from among the banded bats. And another one: ''Please stay!''

''Yeah, please stay with us!

Soon a chorus went up from all the other bats: ''Stay, stay!''

''Yes, please stay Marina! It already feels like we are friends,'' Betty pleaded and Marina looked at her and all the other banded bats who wished for her to stay with them. A bright smile appeared on Marina's face. Then she looked back at Shade.

''Why don't we stay here?'' she asked him.

I blinked. Staying here? Just like that when we surely have a mission to accomplish? Before Shade could say something I stepped out from behind him and walked up to Marina, ignoring that everyone could see me, right there on the spot.

''Are you out of your roost?'' I snapped at her furiously, ''Have you forgotten that we need to find Shade's colony, to warn them because of the owls and Goth and Throbb? How can you just suggest that we stay here among bats we know nothing about and forget about our mission? How can you be so naive?!'' The more words went out of me the angrier I got. I really couldn't believe that Marina was just thinking of staying here instead of continuing our way to Hibernaculum. Eventually, I stopped and just stared at her with my arms crossed before my chest waiting for a response coming from her. Instead, it was Scirocco who spoke once more.

''Tsk, tsk. You earthbound rodents have no understanding for Nocturna and her great promise to us bats.'' He said, thinking I was a mouse because of my fluffy white coat and crossed his arms before his chest while looking at me condescendingly, as if I was not worthy to learn anything about it at all. ''You just don't have the connection to the humans like we do.''

''Oh, I believe my connection to humans is way closer than yours,'' I replied glaring at him.

Scirocco rolled his eyes with a huff and was about to make another remark when I threw my hood out of my face, revealing my human face to everyone.

''Great Nocturna!'' The surprised look in the green bat's eyes was priceless. He for sure hadn't expected to see a real tiny human. Suddenly there was a turmoil among the other banded bats and I glanced up to see them all staring down at me with their mouths and eyes open wide. I couldn't help but started to feel a bit embarrassed by the attention I got.

''Who is this?'' one of them asked.

''Is this a real human?''

''How could she transform herself so perfectly?''

''Yeah, I thought Scirocco was the only one who could do this by now?''

The banded bats started chattering louder and louder, wondering about what and who I was. I felt so uncomfortable at that moment that I wished nothing more than to disappear right on the spot. Too bad, I couldn't teleport. Instead, I just looked down and stared at my feet.

''Indeed, what a surprise'' Scirocco said, causing me to look back up at him. ''My Lady, may I ask what's your name again?''

''Eh...ehm Vanessa.'' I replied.

''A beautiful name. Excuse my curiosity, but when did you manage to transform yourself completely into a human being?''

''I beg your pardon?''

''Your hands, your face. Everything is most perfectly shaped for a human body instead of a bat. Even your scent smells like the one of a human my lady.'' Scirocco said while gently taking my hand up to his nose, sniffing it softly.

''Eh, yeah ... that's because I actually am a human and not a bat that got transformed into one.'' I explained and carefully pulled my hand away from him again. But the long-eared bat didn't seem to be convinced by what I said.

''I see you've already moved on from your former life as a bat to fully become a part of Nocturna's great plan.''

''What? No!'' I exclaimed, ''I really am a human. I just got shrunk. That's why I'm so small. If I had been transformed into a human, I would be much larger. Also, I don't have a band like you guys have.'' I held up my arm, showing him and the others my left wrist with the healing scars I got from Goth.

''I think I know what happened.'' Scirocco said, grasping my hand once again, eyeing the scars on my wrist, ''Someone must have ripped off your band as you were changing. That's why your transformation isn't complete and you are still the size of a bat.''

_''That's it. This guy is nuts,''_ I thought and didn't say anything more.  
Scirocco smiled, probably thinking he guessed right. Then he offered me to stay here among him and the banded bats as he did earlier with Marina. ''Your knowledge and your experience of being a human for much longer than every one of us is of great importance. Therefore, I hope that you and your friend here will accept our offer and stay with us.''

I gulped and thought about what to say now. There was no way I could bring some sense into his mind and convince him to believe my words. So letting him and the rest of the banded bats believe I was the only bat that already managed to change herself into a complete human more or less, seemed to be the only option for now.

''Come on Vanessa, Shade... Why don't we stay here? It doesn't have to be forever guys.'' Marina said, having a pleading look in her eyes.

I looked away, avoiding her gaze. ''Fine,'' I muttered softly under my breath and turned to Shade. ''Maybe staying here won't be so bad. At least for a few days or something.'' Shade wanted to say something but Scirocco interrupted him quickly.

''I'm sorry but the Silverwing can't stay.''

''Why not?'' I demanded to know, even though I had kind of expected something like this.

''He is not one of the chosen ones,'' Scirocco replied, ''Nocturna would be angry if we let the unworthy stay. She might decide to hold all of us back from the transformation. Without a band, there is no promise.''

''Hey, I don't have a band ... anymore.'' I reminded him.

Scirocco nodded. ''Yes which is why your transformation never got finished. Now think about what could happen to all of us if there was someone among us who never got a band in the first place.

''But my father had a band,'' Shade protested, ''and the elder of ...''

''That doesn't matter,'' Scirocco interrupted him, shaking his head, ''Those who are not banded will never become human. They will die in the dark with all the others who haven't been chosen.'' He turned and looked directly at Shade with a sympathetic look in his eyes. ''I'm sorry but this is the truth.''

Shade looked away, his expression hardened.

''Shade?'' Marina asked worried and put a hand on her friend's shoulder but the Silverwing gently brushed her hand away.

''You stay,'' he mumbled. She shook her head, sadness filling her eyes. Shade smiled softly and turned back to Marina and me. ''You've got to,'' he said,'' You've got to stay. Both of you. Marina, all the time you wished to be part of a colony again after losing your former one because of your band. Here none will send you away because of it. And you Vanessa ...,'' he stopped shortly, letting out a deep sigh, ''You know we never knew exactly why you got so small and why you are able to understand our language. But do you remember what Frieda said about Nocturna's Promise? Maybe it means that you had come here to be with all these banded bats.''

''But ...'' I started but Shade shook his head.

''I'm going to find my colony.''

Marina blinked, trying to hold back her tears as she unhappily scratched the wood beneath her feet.  
''It's not that far, right? You are probably almost there.'' She looked at him desperately. ''You will be alright, won't you?''

He nodded vigorously. ''Oh sure, I know the rest of the way. I've got the map. You guys helped me a lot,'' he said then took a look out of the window. Following his gaze, I noticed that the storm outside was over and that it won't be much longer until sunrise. ''I should get going.'' Shade looked back at us and gave us another soft but sad smile.  
I felt tears burning in my eyes. I didn't want him to go. He was my best friend. The only one I ever had. I liked Marina too but Shade never judged me because of anything from the day we met. How could I just let him go like this? Then again, maybe he was right and the reason I got shrunk was to be here with the banded bats. But what if not? Would I ever be able to see him again?

Not wanting to lengthen this farewell more than necessary I walked up to Shade and hugged him tightly while Marina did the same.

''I'll miss you guys,'' he whispered, hugging us back.

''We too. Goodbye and good luck. Hopefully, you will find your colony.''

Shade nodded once again, then he carefully went out from our embrace and flew off from the bookshelf and back up into the chimney, without looking back.

''Don't be sad Shade will be fine,'' Betty said, giving us a comforting smile, and I really hoped that she was right.


	24. Party in the hut

Shade was gone and I still couldn't believe it. Didn't we agree to find his colony all together?  
But now he was out on his own while Marina and I stood behind to stay here in this chalet with the banded bats. And even though Marina looked happy to be with bats who won't segregate her because of her band, she probably missed Shade as much as I did already.

I felt wrong at this place and I didn't believe a word from what Shade said about it had to be my destiny to be with these bats. Who cares? I had sworn to myself I'd help my friend find his colony, and I was not about to break that promise now. If these bats really need me, then they can wait until I'll come back. Then again, ... maybe it was right for me to be here. Maybe it was important like Shade said. Argh, it was so confusing. I sighed wondering what I should do as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I noticed Betty standing behind me with a concerned look on her face.

''Are you alright?'' she asked, and I nodded smiling.

''Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about my friend that's all.''

She nodded understandingly. ''I know how you must feel. Losing a friend is never easy but don't worry you and Marina will quickly grow to love it here.''

I still had my doubts about it but I didn't object as two more bats landed beside me after Betty left.  
One was a female with red hair and small round ears and purple fur and wings and the other a pudgy male with blue-green fur and long rabbit-like ears. As he greeted me he showed two large canine teeth in his upper jaw, making him look like a vampire bunny bat or something.

''Hello, I'm Cassandra,'' the female introduced herself.

''And my name's Boris,'' the male energetically added.

''Eh, ... hi,'' I greeted them, feeling a bit unsure about their enthusiasm.

''It's so great to meet the first bat, who got turned into a human. I bet you must be blessed by Nocturna herself,'' Cassandra said cheerfully.

''Well, actually...''

''Just too bad your band got ripped off before you could grow as well. Finally, being a human but still stuck in mouse size. Too bad!''

''Yeah, but tell us how did it feel getting turned into a human?''

I quickly gave up convincing them to believe me I was never a bat at all. Instead, I told them as much as I could about the blue pearl, the bright light and how I ended up in Shades colony. Of course, they kept on believing the pearl or more the bright light turned me into a bat sized human instead of shrinking me. Both kept asking me more and more questions about how it felt being human and all and if I missed anything about my former bat life. I just wanted them to leave.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, my prayers were answered and Betty came back to release me from those two. She told me that there was a surprise for me and let me towards a crack in the wooden door that led into another room. I followed her inside and found myself in a small bathroom with a bathtub, a sink, and a toilet. The moon was shining through a small window next to the sink. There I saw three more bats, all female, hovering above it.

Before I could ask what they were doing, Betty simply grabbed my hands with her feet and flew me up to the three ladies, who were all smiling at me friendly.  
One was a Silverwing, the other two Greywings.

''Hi...'' I greeted them shyly still wondering what was going on here. Then I looked down and noticed the sink half full of freshwater. I was truly amazed by the fact they had managed to fill the sink with water. Betty noticed my surprise and smiled happily.

''I thought you would like to have a warm bath after all the trouble on your journey. It must be hard to keep yourself warm since you don't have fur anymore.''

''Ehm...yeah,'' I said, wishing she and everyone else in this colony would stop with this nonsense.  
But a bath didn't sound so bad after all. I could really use one since the last time I cleaned myself completely was when I was back at the hotel before I got into this adventure. My hair was greasy for days and probably still had the smell and taste of salt from the seawater in it too.

Despite my protests, Betty and her friends helped me out of my clothes and I quickly jumped into the water before they could get a closer look at my bare body. Even though they were all female, I felt kind of embarrassed being naked with four strange women around me.

While Betty and the Silverwing collected my clothes and took them out the two Greywing ladies helped me with my bath and gave me some shampoo for my hair by squeezing some of it out of a little sample bottle and turned the faucet on, so I could wash it off again.  
Then after my hair and body was clean, the two Greywings left as well, giving me some time for me to relax a little. It sure felt nice. The water wasn't too hot and really helped to warm myself up. With a sigh, I leaned myself back in the sink and closed my eyes for a few minutes, enjoying this moment.

''I hope the water is to your utmost satisfaction,'' a manly voice suddenly said, causing me to shriek and to plunge deeper into the water with only my head sticking out of it. ''I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you, my lady,'' the voice said, and I turned around to see Scirocco standing on the edge of the sink, an apology smile on his face.

''I just came to see if everything is alright.''

''Yeah, everything is...fine,'' I said feeling abashed and slightly angry about the fact that he had the nerve to come here without asking while I was taking a bath. Luckily the water and the foam in it hid my naked body before his eyes but I did notice him trying to get a glimpse of it for a second.

''I'm very pleased to hear that,'' he said smiling, ''In case you are finished now, may I bring you to the new clothes I've ordered for you?''

''Eh, ...sure but I need a towel first to dry myself up.'' ''_And to cover me up before you, you perv!'' _I added in my thoughts. Scirocco nodded and offered me to bring me one as. To my relief, right then Betty came back with two little towels, that looked like ripped off pieces from a bigger one.

After she managed to get Scirocco to leave the room again, with I found very grateful, she gave me the towels, so I could dry myself up as I stepped out of the water on the edge of the sink next to the faucet. After this, I wrapped my body in one towel while drying off my hair with the other one before letting Betty carry me back down to the floor. There I met the two Greywings and the Silverwing female again. They greeted me and showed me a dress that Scirocco had picked out for me to wear.

To put it bluntly, the dress was ... nice.  
It was a long light pink dress with long sheer sleeves, a white belt around the hips, decorated with tiny daisies and a transparent shoulder color with another small daisy attached in the middle.  
All in all, I had to admit; the dress was pretty, just not exactly something I would wear except if I happened to be in a Disney movie or something. However, not wanting to be rude I faked up a smile and put on the dress together with a necklace made of tiny white pearls and a pair of golden-colored, doll-sized ballet shoes one of the female Greywings gave me.  
Afterwards, they helped me brush my hair with a small toy brush and pulled it up into a nice bun with two strands of hair falling down on my face.

As they were finished I walked over to a broken piece of a mirror, leaning against the wall and took a good look on me. The dress was fitting nicely and looked indeed kind of pretty on me. But still, it was not exactly something I would have liked to be caught dead in it. Hopefully, I didn't have to wear this for too long.

''Do you like it?'' Betty asked me with a smile, wanting to be sure I was happy and all.

''Yeah, it's...beautiful but why do you give me that dress in the first place?''

''Well, for the party of course,'' she replied gleefully.

''Party?''

''The welcome party for you and your friend of course.''  
Before I could ask her any more questions, Betty grabbed my hands with her feet and flew me back into the other room.  
There colorful lights filled room caused by multicolored glass shards, reflecting the moonlight. Disco music was playing from an old CD Player standing in a corner.

I surprised me that they got this thing to work. Then again, they probably live here for a long time. And since they all want to become humans they had to figure out how to use human stuff right?!

Looking at all the bats which were flying and dancing around to the beat of the music I wondered where Marina was. I had not seen her anymore since Shade left. Then I found her, dancing with Cassandra and Boris on top of the bookshelf, looking like she was having the best time ever.  
It made me happy to see her smiling again, but I also felt uneasy about this whole situation. It felt so wrong. We shouldn't have been here, we should be outside flying with Shade and search for his colony. Instead, we were here, at a party like nothing was wrong.

''Is there something bothering you my lady?''

I turned around to see Scirocco standing right behind me.  
_''Great, _I thought, ''_What does he want from me now?''_

''I have to say you look marvelous in this dress my dear. It suits you perfectly,'' he complimented me.

''Really? Well, eh...thank you.'' I said softly, unsure what to think of this.

''Why don't you come and join the party? I'm sure you will enjoy it,'' he said.

''I don't know. Normally I don't go to parties.'' I admitted to him.

''But you will love this one, trust me. Here, may I offer this dance to you?''

Before I knew it, Scirocco gently took me by the hands and pulled me towards the middle of the room where he started dancing around with me.  
As we moved and circled around I led the Greenwing completely in charge while trying my best not to accidentally step on his foot or something. He was a great dancer I had to admit, but I didn't like how we were dancing so close together with his hand on my hip.

''Doesn't this feel so much better, dancing around letting all your worries go past?'' he said as we circled around once more. ''Having you here with us is such a great pleasure to our colony.''

''Uh, ... really?''

''Yes,'' he said as we kept on dancing, ''Your transformation into a human may not be fully complete but your look, your scent. It is all human like and no more like that of a bat. Your arrival here shows us all how close we are to the fulfilling of Nocturna's promise. With your help, I can figure out the last secret that will make it come true as soon as possible.''

I looked at him slightly confused not getting what he meant by that.  
Scirocco whirled us around one more time before he excused himself and flew off, leaving me with all the other dancing bats around.  
I wondered what he was up to and if I should follow him to see what he was doing. But then I thought it might be better if I got away from here. This was my chance. With all the banded bats dancing around, no one would even notice me leaving. All I needed to do first was to figure out where Betty hid my native American clothes. There was no way I would walk around outside wearing this dress.  
Also, did I want to talk with Marina and try to convince her to come with me and if not then I would go alone, knowing it would be nearly impossible for me to catch up with Shade all by myself. Nevertheless, I wanted to try it at least.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed me by the waist and whirled me around without warning, causing me to squeak in surprise. I expected to see Scirocco again but as I turned around, I came face to face with Cassandra, Boris and a few other banded bats.

''Hey, Vanessa, come on let's dance together,'' Cassandra said cheerfully before she and one of her friends grabbed me by the arms and circled and whirled me around and even tossed me through the air, turning this group dance into an open-air acrobatic dance.

''What are you guys doing with her?'' I heard a familiar voice shouting up to us and got a short glance on Marina roosting on the wooden cupboard door, eyes open in horror.

Boris landed beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.  
''Don't worry,'' he placated her, ''Everything is alright. She is enjoying this.''

''It certainly doesn't sound like that, she is screaming.''

''Yeah, but with delight my dear. When I was migrating with my old colony we came across a huge place build by humans with big weird looking machines that moved around very fast, tossing and turning the humans sitting inside all over the place. They too screamed but also seemed to like it very much. They even rode them multiple times.''

Marina didn't look very convinced as much as I could figure out while being tossed around in the air. Also, I was indeed screaming ... but not with joy.

* * *

It was still snowing as the young Silverwing flew through the night, but at least the storm was gone. Despite his plan to fly as far from the hut as possible, Shade stopped right on the next rock just a few wingbeats away.

With a deep sigh, he sat down on the stone thinking about what just happened.  
''Marina,'' he said wistfully and caught a snowflake with his tongue, ''I can't believe she was fooled by that big-eared phony. At least Vanessa was still on my side, maybe I should have let her come with me?'' A shadow appeared above him and for a second he thought it was his two friends but to my horror, it was Goth and Throbb and they were flying straight towards the hut.  
  
Oh, Nocturna why? Shade had so hoped the leaves would have made them sleep a bit longer.   
He knew he had to do something, his friends were in grave danger, so he quickly dashed back into the air hoping to find a way to lure the two cannibals into another direction before they notice the hut, hidden in the snow.  
  
Shade got as close to them as possible hoping they won't notice him, meaning as long Throbb wouldn't turn around everything was fine. Then he heard Goth sniffing around and froze slightly.  
  
''Hmm, ... I smell a bat,'' he said thoughtfully and sniffed the air again before correcting himself, ''No, many bats.''  
  
''My nose is too cold to smell nothing,'' Throbb complained, his voice sounding nasal.  
  
Goth took a deep breath and grinned. ''Oh, there is a roost full and we are near compadre very near.''  
  
Shade had heard enough. Even though they hadn't seen the hut yet, they knew the banded one's colony was close. Wasting no time, he flew as fast as he could back to the hut, knowing he had to warn them all. 

* * *

As the dance finally ended, and the music went off, I felt myself being placed back down on the floor, next to the cold fireplace where I laid there on my back waiting for the world to stop spinning around me.  
Now it was official, never ever in my whole life would I go on a roller coaster ride ever again.  
No way!

''Are you alright?'' I heard Marina asking me with worry in her voice but I felt too sick to answer her.

''She is probably just exhausted from all the fun she had,'' Boris said grinning and roosted on the bookshelf next to her and Cassandra.

Me exhausted? Right. But fun? I was afraid I needed to talk to this guy about his and my definition of fun because I definitely didn't have any.

As my stomach finally settled down, I heaved myself into a sitting position with my back leaning against the stone wall of the fireplace. Then I looked up and saw Scirocco standing on the seating surface of an old chair in the middle of the room, raising his voice for everyone to hear.

''Everyone, with the end of this party I'm happy to welcome our two new sisters into our colony.''

The bats around cheered and began talking with each other with excitement all over the place. Most of them send their greetings to me and Marina but mainly to me. They all still thought I was some kind of chosen one who was chosen by Nocturna herself to be the first bat to transform into a fully human. Oh dear!

''As with all who join our colony,'' Scirocco continued after getting back everyone's attention, ''We begin with the renaming.'' Wait, what did he just say? Like him, I looked up at Marina and saw that she was just as confused as I. ''Brightwing, you will now be known as ... Veronica.''

''It's positively you,'' Boris complimented her but Marina seemed to be far from happy about her new name.

''I prefer Marina, thank you.''

''I would take that other name if I were you,'' Cassandra whispered to her, chuckling nervously, and I wondered what she was so scared about. The rest of the colony also started whispering around nervously, but it didn't bother Marina.

''There is nothing wrong with my name.''

''Then perhaps you prefer a different kind of initiation?'' Scirocco suggested casually.

''We warned you,'' Boris said in a sing-song voice while looking haughtily at Marina.

''I'll let you keep your name ... Marina, if you bring me that human food.''

Glancing to my left, just a few meters away from the chair, I saw Scirocco pointing down to a pair of mouse traps. One had a piece of cheese waiting on the trigger while the other had the trap around the skeleton of a mouse, showing what happened if you dare to get too close to the traps.  
I knew something was off with this guy. There was no point in getting that cheese. That was just an unneeded dangerous task for his entertainment.

''We are waiting, Veronica,'' Scirocco smirked at Marina, who looked nervously down on the traps.  
There was no way she could get the cheese without facing the same fate as the mouse. If only there was a way, I could help ... But then I got it. Right on to the top of some wooden shelves hammered to the wall, I spotted a salt shaker right above the two traps. Coughing intensely I jolt my head up to the wooden shelves, hoping Marina would notice. And it seemed she did.

Wordlessly, she flew past Scirocco up to the shelves and kicked the saltshaker off the edge where it landed perfectly onto the mousetrap, setting it off. Through the force of the snap, the cheese flung through the air before landing with a plop right next to the banded leader on the chair.

Sirocco huffed unimpressed and looked up at Marina, who looked down smiling triumphantly.  
''Very clever, Marina,'' he said slowly, ''But I don't want clever bats. I want loyal ones. Repeat after me: I pledge my allegiance to the banded ones.''

Marina hesitated at first before repeating his words with uncertainty. ''I ... pledge my allegiance to the banded ones.''

''I reject all who are not banded.''

I gasped, not believing my ears. Was this guy for real? I looked back up on Marina noticing her looking just as shocked as I. Sciroccos eyes darkened not liking how she stopped repeating his words.

''Repeat after me!'' he said firmly, ''I reject all who are not banded!''

''No!'' Marina snapped, glaring down at him, ''I'm not rejecting Shade. He is my friend just as Vanessa who also doesn't have a band if I may remind you.''

The Greenwing chuckled softly. ''Yeah, that might be true but since she already got blessed by Nocturna to be transformed into a human ...''

''Now, stop it!'' I yelled. That was it. I finally had enough with this nonsense. Getting back up on my feet I glared angrily upon Scirocco, ignoring the questionable look in his eyes. ''For the last damn time. I'm not and never was a bat chosen by your goddess to become human and I never had a band in the first place. You idiot! I am a human since birth and somehow got shrunk thanks to a weird pearl I've found and this scar on my wrist is from Goth, a cannibal bat from the jungle down south.''

Scirocco shook his head clearly not believing any word I just said.  
''My dear, I'm sure the reason you must think you were never a bat comes from your transformation into a human. It must have cleared out your memory from your previous life as a bat, so you can be ready to start your new life as a human.''

Now, I really had enough and wanted nothing more than away from this place.  
''Come Marina, let's leave!''

The Brightwing nodded and swooped down to grab my hands with her feet ready to leave this place through the chimney only to be blocked by Scirocco.  
''What the?! Hey, let us go!'' I demanded, but he didn't move from his spot.

''Scirocco, if they want to go, maybe we should just let them,'' Betty suggested, trying to persuade him but without success.

Right at that moment, Shade burst out of the chimney, fear written on his face.  
''I just ... saw Goth ... and Throbb,'' he called out, panting heavily.

Marina and I gasped in shock.

''Everybody! You've got to get out!'' Shade yelled flying around, ''the giant bats are coming!''

''Giant Bats!?''

''Oh, no!''

''The cannibals!''

Panic broke out among the banded bat colony. Only Scirocco stayed calm.  
''The Silverwing is lying. He is jealous of our bands,'' he said loudly, ''Capture him!''

Immediately Shade was cornered by a bunch of bats and turned around, trying to get away from them. Marina and I tried to follow him but Cassandra and Boris blocked our way together with some other bats. ''Get out of our way!'' I yelled then felt someone grabbing my feet and pulling me away from Marina.

''Hey! Let go!'' I screamed while struggling and kicking but the Greenwing, who was no other than Sirocco himself, had me in a tight grip.

''You may be special but I believe I need to teach you a lesson about respect.''  
My eyes widen in fear as I saw the look in his eyes he was giving me.

''Shade, Marina Help!'' I screamed struggling more but with no use. Grabbing me by my arm and hair Scirocco dragged me over to the cupboard under the kitchen area and pushed me through the crack of the double doors.

''You stay here! I'll come back for you later after I dealt with your rebellious Brightwing friend.''  
With that Scirocco yanked the strings that held my bun up out of my hair and used it to bind the doorknobs so it locked the cupboard, leaving me in complete darkness.


	25. Massacre in the mountains

Thinking everything was fine, Bathsheba led the Silverwings over the empty runway at the airport They all followed her blindly, trusting her decision.  
Suddenly a strange droning sound came from above, causing Mercury to look up. To his horror, he saw a human flying machine just about to land right on top of them. ''Look Out!'' he yelled as a warning.

Bathsheba looked up and gasped in shock as she realized what was happening.

All Silverwings screamed in panic, split into two separated parts to get out of the machine's way and quickly flew up to a high tower where they roosted together, shaking with fear.

For a second Frieda stared down at the machine before glaring angrily at Bathsheba.  
Instead of looking guilty the chief elder just scowled at her, refusing to admit her mistake that nearly caused the death of the entire colony.

* * *

''Well,_ Veronica_,'' Scirocco smirked down on Marina while she was being restrained by two of his followers, ''it looks like we have to teach you how to be loyal to the band.''  
  
''Why are doing this? What gives you the right to keep us here as prisoners?'' she asked glaring at him.  
  
''Tsk, you certainly don't understand how important it is for banded ones to be together. We can't just lose one of our own.''  
  
''I don't want to be a part of your stupid cult,'' she snapped, ''Tell me where Vanessa is and then let us go.''  
  
Scirocco shook his head, sighing softly. ''I'm afraid, I can not let this happen. You might be merely a regular banded bat like the rest of us but your friend is ... special.''  
  
''No, she is not. At least not the way you think she is.'' She tried my best to persuade him but it was clear that he wasn't listening to her at all. Shade was right. This guy was nothing more than a complete lunatic. If she just had listened to him and Vanessa. Then they wouldn't be in this mess now. Speaking of Vanessa. Where was she? Solicitously Marina looked around but couldn't find her anywhere. _''What had this guy done to her?''_

Hopefully she was alright, wherever Scirocco had locked her up right now.  
  
With a nod of his head, Scirocco ordered Cassandra and Boris to step closer and Marina made myself ready to fight if necessary. There was no way she would go down without one.  
But just as they were about to grab her, the door suddenly burst open and a heavy gust of snow and wind blew into the hut, causing her to flinch and close her eyes for a second.  
Then she opened them again gasped in amazement.  
  
There was a human male in strange green leaves, carrying a round, black object around his shoulder. He came up to the door frame and stood there with a strange humming sound coming from him.

''Who is the one they call Scirocco,'' the human asked and everyone imidatelly pointed down to the  
dumbstrucked long-eared bat.  
  
''The time has come for the transformation! I will lead you now!'' the man said, raising his hand.  
  
''Our new leader!''  
  
''A human?!''  
  
''Who knew?''  
  
Scirocco narrowed his eyes, his mouth twisted. ''Don't listen to him,'' he spoke to the bats, pointing at the man. ''He is not a human!''  
  
Marina blinked in confusion and took a closer look. What did Scirocco mean? Of course that was a real human ... wait! Hearing the sound of rustling white leaves on the wall Marina looked up and saw on the first page the image of the exact same man, pointing his thumb up.  
With a gasp she turned back to the human in the door frame, seeing him standing in the same posture like the one in the picture. Then she noticed a small figure in a corner behind the door. Shade!  
  
The young Brightwings face lid up with relief. This human was an echo projection summoned by Shade to lure the banded bats out of the hut in order to save them from Goth and Throbb. That explained the humming sound and why he sounded so my like him. How clever!  
  
''Obey me banded ones!'' The projection said, pointing outside, ''You must leave at ones!''  
  
''We should do as the human says,'' Betty told Scirocco but the Greenwing disagreed.  
  
''No!'' he exclaimed, ''Leave here and you will die!''

''Stay and you will die!'' the projection restored forcefully and glitched for a second.  
  
Scirocco gasped as he noticed that. ''It's the Silverwing!'' he yelled up to his colony, ''He is playing a trick! Look, look ... I can do it too!'' He closed his eyes and placed his claws onto his head, trying to concentrate.  
  
Quick-thinking Marina spread my wings and called out for everyone to follow her outside as she head to the exit.

All bats began screaming in fear and dashed out as fast as they could, while Shade's echo projection slowly faded away.  
One of them, a young purple-colored female fell down to the floor after she got knocked down by one of the others. Marina landed down by her and helped her back up while urging her to leave.  
Then she spread her wings to get airborne again, but a hand suddenly grabbed her roughly by the arm. Startled Marina turned around and looked into Sciroccos angered expression.

* * *

Shade was so glad his idea with the echo projection had worked and flew up to the entrance to make sure his friends and everyone else made it out safely.  
Unfortunately, he couldn't see either Vanessa or Marina anywhere. Instead, he saw Betty flying out and flew towards her.

''Hey, where are my friends?'' Shade asked her frantically. Betty looked around, a worried expression on her face.''  
  
''I don't know. I could've sworn I saw Marina flying out like everyone else.''  
  
But where was she then and what about Vanessa? They had to be around here somewhere.  
To make things worse, he saw Goth and Throbb getting extremely close by now.  
''Quick, help me get everyone under the roof,'' he instructed to her and flew off with no further explanations. As everyone was hiding Shade heard someone landing on the roof above them, followed by the sound of growling and sniffing that grew closer and closer to where we all were.  
  
''Shade?'' he heard Goth growling softly and froze, knowing it wasn't a good sign that he recognized his scent. Biting his lips Shade quietly prayed to Nocturna that he won't look down to see them.  
  
''Goth, here!'' came Throbb's voice, causing him to turn away again. What Luck!

* * *

I kicked and hammered at the door as hard as I could but the cupboard just wouldn't open.  
I breathed heavily, feeling exhausted and made one last try in freeing myself by pushing against one door with all might. Slowly, very slowly the door finally opened to a small gap.  
Instantly I squeezed myself through, feeling lucky that I was thin enough to fit through. Then I stumbled to the ground and looked at my surroundings.  
The front door of the chalet was wide open and except for a small group the banded bats were nowhere to be seen. In front of the entrance, I saw Marina being detained by Scirocco.

''Marina!'' I called out, causing the long-eared to turn around, looking surprised to see me out of my prison. Marina yanked her arm free and flew straight towards me.

Suddenly a sinister laugh came from the chimney and to my horror I saw Goth appearing out of it, followed by his cousin Throbb, who went straight to the main entrance and shut the door, trapping everyone inside including me and Marina.

The young Brightwing landed beside me in the fireplace's corner and signified me to be quiet. I nodded fearfully and shifted a little further into the corner.  
Before us, on top of the chair, in the middle of the room stood Goth. Luckily with his back to us and with his large wings wrapped around his body like a majestically cape. He looked up and stared straight at the small group of banded bands, huddling together on top of the bookshelf, trembling with fear.

''Don't worry little ones,'' he said calmly and held up his left arm, ''we are with the band.'' And then the hunt began.

It was like hell broke out. There was screaming everywhere as the banded bats tried to escape the hungry predators. Blind for panic they flew into walls and furniture and stumbled against each other. The two cannibals, however, laughed like they were having the best time of their life.

Utilizing the stampede, Marina wasted no time, grabbed my hand with her feet and dashed towards the chimney. We were almost out when one of the panic-stricken bats rammed against me, causing me to lose my grip and fall back to the ground.

''Vanessa!?'' I heard Marina calling out my name but with all this mess going on it was hard to find out where she was. Bats were screaming and fluttering all over the place. I had to hide or fear being overrun by one of them. Or worse get caught by Goth or Throbb.  
Quickly I spotted the cupboard I was held captive in earlier and dashed towards it.

Wasting no time, I squeezed myself through the small gap between the doors and into the darkness. There I sat down for a moment and tried to calm down. My whole body was tense with my heart beating fast in my chest. I was scared someone would open the doors and crawled further into the back. A frightened hiss made me spun around and to my shock, I noticed a pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness. There was someone with me inside the cupboard. I opened my mouth ready to scream but got quickly interrupted by the bat in front of me.

''P-please don't shout!''  
It was a young Browning female. Her golden colored eyes widen in fear. Her whole body was shaking. ''Please, if you make a sound they might hear us and ...'' Suddenly the left door got violently torn open and a small ray of light came inside.. Not much since that chalet Itself was pretty dark inside. But it was enough to see the contours of Throbb's head.  
Startled I crawled as far out of his sight as possible. But the Vampyrum turned his attention alone towards the poor Browning. He grabbed her by her wing and forcefully pulled her out while chuckling evilly.

''HELP!'' she cried out and desperately dug her claws into the wood and reached out for me. ''HELP ME! PLEASE!'' I tried to grab her but Throbb was too strong. He pulled her so violently into the open that the door slammed shut and I sat back in total darkness. The next thing I heard was earsplitting cries of pain and agony mixed along with the disgusting sound of ripping flesh and ferociously chewing and smacking.

I was terrified. All those cries, all those killing. I wanted to be away from this place right now. But I needed to wait. Shutting my eyes tight I pressed my hands to my ears with my knees pulled to my chest and started counting to twenty. Only then I allowed myself to try sneaking out again since it got quieter on the other side. Cautiously I pushed open the door and looked around. There were dark red spots on the ground but no sight of Throbb or the poor Brownwing. I gulped thinking of her and hoped it wasn't my fault that Throbb ate her. Not that he noticed me running over here and followed me. There were still bats flying around in panic but much less than before.

I desperately looked around, trying to find Marina, hoping she was alright and run across the room. I used every possible spot to hide even just for a few seconds and kept alert of my surroundings. I felt the urge to call out Marina's name but decided against it not wanting Goth or Throbb to accidentally hear me instead. Therefore, I kept quiet and continued running through the hut. Eventually, I reached the bathroom where I took my bath in earlier. The door was still ajar, so I decided to take a quick look inside, wondering if Marina was maybe inside.

''Marina?'' I called out but not too loud in fear of being heard by the wrong people. ''Marina are you here?'' Glancing around I spotted a small pile of folded laundry in a corner and quickly recognized it as my old clothes.  
_''Perfect!''_ I thought happily and rushed over to get them. I had barely grasped my white cloak as a winged hand grabbed me by my arm and pulled me away, making me let go of it.

''I knew I would find you here my lady.''

Recognizing the voice I turned around and saw that Scirocco was holding me tightly in his arms.

''You thought you could run off just like that? Forget it! You are coming with me.''

Despite my shouting and struggling the Greenwing managed to get airborne with me hanging in his claws and fluttered towards the window in order to escape through a broken part in the glass. Right at that moment Goth came inside and got in our way.

''Well, well, well what do we have here? Trying to leave without even saying hello señorita?'' he chuckled sinisterly.

''H-hey get out of our way you...you murderer.''

It was a rather puny attempt but at least Scirocco tried his best to sound brave. But the huge, muscular bat just stared at him with disinterest and turned his attention to me back again.

''It would be a shame if you didn't stay for dinner,'' he said and hungrily licked his lips. I frowned at him and did the only and possible most stupid thing I could think of at that moment. Still, in Scirocco's grip, I swung a little back like on a swing and kicked Goth the grin out of his face.

''Argh!'' the Vampyrum cried out in pain and stumbled away. Startled by what happened Scirocco accidentally let go of my arms and I fell down to the ground, screaming. Luckily there was a pile of towels right under me which cushioned the impact.  
The Greenwing dove under, trying to grab me again but Goth pushed him out of the way growling furiously. I wasted no time and hurried down from the towels before Goth could catch me with his claws and dashed back to my clothes. I grasped my cloak but before I could grab the others as well I got tackled and pinned to the ground.

''Now, you cannot escape señorita!''

I gasped seeing Goth's enraged face hovering above me. His razor-sharp teeth only centimeters away from my nose. He tore his head back and opened his mouth wide, ready to bite my head of any second. Just then Scirocco crashed against Goth, causing him to let me go.  
Furious to see me running off again, Goth roared in anger and began to attack the weaker Greenwing. Scirocco tried his best to fight against Goth but of course he was no match for the cannibal.  
Not wanting to witness the carnage I hurried outside, my white cloak still in my hands and crushed right into another bat and fell to my bottom.

''Ouch!''

''Ah! Hey!...wait! Vanessa!?''

I opened my eyes and looked up into the relieved face of Marina.

''Oh, Vanessa I'm so happy to see you. Where in Nocturna's name have you been?''

I shook my head. ''Doesn't matter let's get out of here!''

Marina nodded, not asking anymore questions and grabbed me by my hand with her feet before flying out of the chimney before anyone noticed us.

Finally outside, Marina flew as fast as she could to bring us both in a safe distance away from the chalet.  
I held on tight to her feet and closed my eyes shut, trying to ignore the painful screams of terror and fright coming from behind us. I may not have liked them so much, especially that superciliously jerk Scirocco but even someone like him didn't deserve such an end.  
However, it didn't take long until we caught up with Shade, Betty and the rest of the banded bats, who luckily made it out safely.

''Guys are you alright? What happened with the others?'' Shade asked worriedly while flying over to us.

''They ... didn't make it.'' I breathed, looking down as Marina sighed sadly. Shade sighed as well. For a while, we just flew silently at the top of the colony towards the south.

Soon after we landed on a cliff side, taking a rest and explained as well as we could what had happened back in the hut while I put my warm cloak over my new dress.

''So, you were the human?'' Betty asked, looking at Shade with astonishment.

''Uh, ... it was an echo projection,'' he replied, ''just like Sciroccos''

''Better than Sciroccos,'' Marina said smiling. Shade returned the smile, happy about her compliment.

''I wish I could have seen it too,'' I felt a little disappointed that I could not witness Shades improvement in echo-projection sooner. If the door would have just opened a little sooner...

Marina put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a comforting smile.  
''It's alright Vanessa, we know you can't see echoprojections because of being a human and all.''

''Well, actually ... I can,'' I confessed.

''Say what?'' Marina and Shade both gasped and looked at me in confusion.

''Since when?''

''I started to see a blurry vision of Shade's echoprojection of a wolf back before we went up to the mountains and then I saw Sciroccos echoprojection of a human. That was more clear but also a bit glitching. Also, I told you I saw it Marina but you didn't want to believe me, thinking it was all real.

''Now I believe you,'' Marina said smiling, and I smiled back at her.

''Well, I guess we will be migrating together now that everything is fine,'' Betty suggested, motioning towards all the other banded bats.

Shades shook his head, ''Trust me you don't wanna fly with us.''

''We are kinda like fugitives Betty- uh, I mean Penelope,'' Marina said, correcting herself.

I nodded. ''Yes, those two cannibal bats, Goth and Throbb, they are after us and General Brutus and his owls are hunting us down too. It's safer for all of you if we split our ways here.''

''But why would the owls do that? Isn't it against the law to hunt bats during the night?''

Shade, Marina and I exchanged an uncomfortable look with each other. From all what we had told them, there had been one tiny detail we left out. Plus another thing which wouldn't have been a problem if they had still the chalet as a place to call home.

''That's a long story, to be honest,'' I tried to explain, ''Let's just say the owls are out of sorts with all bats.''

''But that's all the fault of Goth and Throbb,'' Shade said.

''I'm sorry we can't do much to help but recommend you to stay alerted for every bird in the sky in the night.''

''Don't worry, you guys have done enough for us already,'' Penelope said smiling, ''If it weren't for you, we would all be dead by now. But you gave us a chance to live at least a little bit longer.''  
I gulped softly, not quite liking the sound of it.

''Oh, also we have a friend. Ursa a white black bear,'' Shade said, ''Look for her in the valley. She will find you a safe place for the winter.''

''I wish there was something I could do to repay you,'' she added.

Shade thought for a moment. ''Have you ever flown through wolf-ears?'' he asked.

''Wolf ... ears?'' Penelope asked blinking in confusion. ''No, sorry but I know about some wolfs living further southeast but are you sure you want to go there?''

''Well, we don't have much of a choice, I suppose,'' Shade said while Marina shook her head with a sigh.

''Well, good luck then. Hopefully, we will meet each other again one day.''

''That would be great. Goodbye!''

''Bye!''

After we all said our far wells to everyone Marina and Shade took off again with me hanging on Shades feet. We kept flying into the direction Penelope suggested but there wasn't a single wolf in sight.

''Are you sure this is the right way?'' Marina asked Shade after we landed on another crevice for a short rest. '' I mean, don't get me wrong. I just don't want to waste any more time before the sun gets up and won't be much longer before dawn.''

''I know.'' Shade sighed hanging his head down. Suddenly we heard the howling of wolfs and looked down to see a dozen of them, gathered before the entrance of a cave in one of the deep slopes. He looked at Marina.

''I'm not going down there!'' she said, vigorously shaking her head.

''What else can we do?''

''It's suicide!''

''But my mother sang me wolfs!''

All of the sudden Marina bursted out laughing. ''Wolfears! Wolfears!''

Shade and I looked at her puzzled. What the hell was wrong with her now? Did the cold infect her head or something? But Instead of telling us what was going on, Marina kept on laughing and hopped up and down while pointing at something behind Shade.

''Marina, what's wrong with you? Why are you laughing?'' Shade asked worriedly and tried to get her to stop, but she just kept shouting and giggling

Still confused about her behavior I turned around to take a look at what she was pointing at and ... laughed. Shade noticed it and looked at us as if we had finally lost our mind because of the cold.

''Wolfears!'' We both shouted, pointing insistently into the same direction.  
Finally, Shade turned around and set his eyes upon two mountains in the distance. Their peaks curled in on each other, causing them to look like the ears of a large white wolf.

''Wolfears...'' Shade whispered then he too, burst out laughing.

* * *

About two hours of flying we eventually reached the glacial peaks and were full of hope to reach the destination of our journey.

''You really think my echoprojection was better than Sciroccos?'' Shade asked Marina.

''It convinced those banded bats, didn't it?''

''Not all of them,'' I breathed and squeezed my eyes shut at the horror I experienced back at the chalet. Above me my both friends sighed with sympathy.  
Suddenly, there was a strange tingling sound, coming from behind us, sounding like wind chimes.  
''What's that?'' I asked as we turned around in confusion just to gasp in shock.

Quickly, we dove downwards and hide under a large slab of stone. Peaking out from under it, we saw Goth and Throbb flying with triumphantly smiles on their faces. But much worse were the sight of the dozens of small silver bands that decorated their wings which jingled through the air.  
Shaking with fear we three huddled together, hoping they wouldn't notice us.

''Are you sure it was their scent?'' we heard Throbb asking his cousin doubtfully.

Goth huffed and landed on top of the very same stone slope, we were hiding underneath. He grabbed the edge with his claws and took a deep breath through his nose. His long blood colored hair waving through the wind. ''Oh, yes,'' he replied sinisterly, ''Of that, there is no doubt.''  
With that he got back up with a grunt and flung himself back into the air while Throbb momentarily landed on the same spot he was before, letting out a deep sigh before following him into the night. Shade, Marina and I kept hiding under the stone slope until we were sure they were far ahead of us.

''As long as that noise stays ahead of us, we know where they are,'' Marina said looking at us while I nodded.

''But in the meantime, we need to find food,'' reminded us Shade before grabbing my hands with his feet and soared back into the sky, followed by Marina.

* * *

''It's Goths bands again. They're way ahead,'' Marina said as we kept on flying through the forest covered in thick mist.

''Nice tracking Marina,'' Shade grinning, ''Goth's not so smart after all.''

We flew for a few more hours while the jingling sound grew louder around us until it eventually stopped. Feeling nervous, we landed on a broken tree stump and cautiously looked around, trying to see something through the heavy fog.

''They're not flying,'' Shade mumbled with a frown and send out sound waves through the area to get a picture of what was going on.

_''I don't like this,''_ I thought nervously, feeling like I was in some jumps scare video game. I could already see someone leaping at us out of nowhere any second and flinched as the wind picked up, causing my hair to get into my face. Then we heard the jingling sound again.  
Having a bad feeling about this I looked up at the trees just like Shade and Marina and froze. My olive-green eyes widen in shock.  
Right on cue, the fog lifted, revealing dozens of silver bands hanging on tree branches right above us. Immediately we took off again, screaming in fright and raced off as quick as we could until we stopped to hide under the roots of a giant maple tree when a shadow flew over us.

''Guys, relax! It's just another leaf,'' Shade said smiling and glanced after the brown leaf, dancing away through the air.

''That's not a leaf,'' Marina whispered fearfully as we heard the sound of flapping close to us, ''those are wings flapping. Really big wings!''

Wasting no time, we ducked deeper under the roots of the tree. Seconds later, an owl passed by not noticing us and disappeared back into the mist.

''Ok, that was creepy,'' I admit, still feeling afraid.

''Let's get out of here before we get caught,'' Marina said.

I nodded and was just about to grab on to her feet as we heard another set of wings flapping closely.

Was this another owl? The sound came closer and closer. Then it suddenly stopped. Whatever it was, it was close. Too close.

Shade, Marina and I exchanged a short look. All three of us were tense and ready to run off at any moment. Slowly and carefully I stepped back, closer to the tree as something poked me on the shoulder.

''Hey!''

''AAAAAAAHHH!'' I jumped right into Shades arms, startled at whatever touched me, causing my friends to scream too.

''AAAAAHHH!''

''AAAAAAAAAHHHH!''

''AAAAaaaaahhh...wait what are we all screaming for?''

''Ah... uh?'' Cautiously I opened my eyes back up again and saw that there was indeed an owl sitting right before us. But it wasn't any owl. It was ...

''Orestes!''

The young owl smiled. ''Hey friends.''


	26. Hidden Evil

Shade, Marina and I were more than happy to meet our feathery friend again. And it was clear to see that Orestes was joyful about this as well.

''I'm so glad I found you guys,'' he said after giving us a big group hug. Worry sparkling in his big yellow eyes.

''What's wrong Orestes?''

''It's my dad. He has his troops stationed all over this area to capture all bats who pass through in order to workout operation R. J.''

''What is operation R. J?'' I asked, looking puzzled.

''It stands for operation retributive justice.''

My eyes widened. ''Let me guess. That's the military code for the sky being closed to all bats.'' Orestes nodded.

''Oh, no!'' Marina gasped, ''The message has been spread up to here already?''

''That's not all. Lieutenant Atlas reported that they already fulfilled the operation on one colony.''

_''The Greywings!''_ I lightly shook my head at the gruesome memory of thousands of tattered bat corpses scattered over the snow in the mountains.

''Hearing this I needed to find you guys,'' Orestes continued. ''Not that my father's soldiers got you already. Or your colony Shade.''

The blond male's eyes widened in shock, thinking about this. ''Hopefully not. But who knows how far ahead they are. What if they get captured before they reach Hibernaculum?''

''Relax Shade,'' Marina tried to soothe him and put a hand on his shoulder. ''I'm sure your colony is fine. They probably already know about the whole closed sky thing and are being extra careful not to be seen.''

I nodded in agreement. ''Yeah, Frieda will make sure that they will reach Hibernaculum right on time. And there is also Mercury. He will warn them in case there might be owls or other birds around.''

''I know,'' Shade sighed, ''And there are also the males who should be with them by know. But still ... How come Brutus didn't see Goth's body by the fire towers? It would have proven that he is responsible for all the owl killing, and not we northern bats.''

Orestes sighed. ''I tried to persuade my dad to go there, but he didn't listen to me like always. He thought I merely wanted to show him another, what he calls, useless insect. So I thought I would bring him the corpse to make him see the truth once and for all. But when I arrived at the power station, Goth was gone. No piece of fur or bones lying around. It's like ... he completely disappeared.''

My bat friends and I looked at each other uneasily. We knew the truth and decided it would be best to tell Orestes about it as well.

''It might be hard to believe,'' I started, ''but Goth is alive.''

Orestes gasped. ''What? But how is this possible?''

''We don't know,'' Shade replied, ''We were just as shocked as you are when we met him and his cousin again.''

''And they are still after us and Shade's colony.''

''But I guess we have lost them for a while.''

As if to make sure, Shade looked around, trying to see or hear anything suspicious around us.

''In this case, we really need to find Hibernaculum and make sure the Silverwings are safe,'' Orestes said.

I nodded, thinking the same and shuddered, imagining what would happen if Goth and Throbb found them first. ''We can't let the same happen to them what happened to the rest of the banded bats.''

Shade nodded with a frown. ''You are right Vanessa. I will not let my colony suffer the same fate they had to endure.''

''Who are the banded bats?'' Orestes asked.

''They are a colony of various kinds of bats who got banished by their former colonies 'cause of their bands,'' I explained to him. ''They used to live in a hut in the mountains, but thanks to Goth and Throbb they had to abandon their home.''

''Unfortunately, not all of them made it out safely in time,'' Marina continued, ''At least a dozen were left behind. Vanessa and I barely escaped while the others got all killed and eaten.''

Orestes was shocked, hearing about this. ''B-but what about the rest? The ones who made it out. Where did they go?''

''We told them to search for Ursa the white black bear. She will help them find a safe place for the winter.''

''That won't be easy I'm afraid.''

''Why?'' I asked.

Orestes let out another deep sigh and then told us how Ursa tried to speak with his dad about me and all northern bats being innocent why giant bats were the real ones to blame. Like expected Brutus refused to listen and instead banished her and all forest critters who stood by her side to the eastern valley.''

''Those wolves,'' Shade growled, ''I knew they would bring us more trouble.''

''As if Brutus would have believed Ursa even without speaking to them first,'' I replied.

''True.''

''Now, come guys. I think we should hurry and find a place to roost. It's almost dawn.''

I looked to the east and saw that Marina was right. The sky was lightening up already. In only a few minutes would the dawn chorus begin.

''But where should we go?'' Shade asked. ''There any hollow trees close by?''

''I found an old owls' nest just a few wingbeats away from here,'' Orestes said, ''Don't worry it's abandoned for quite some time. Also, I doubt anyone would suspect you guys to be hiding right there.''

Even though the idea of sleeping in an owls' nest was uncomfortable for all of us, we decided to follow Orestes anyway because there was no time to look for something else. Therefore, I climbed onto the young owls back after he was so kind to let me use him as my ride and flew with him over our roost with Shade and Marina flying beside us.

* * *

Meanwhile, still at the airport, Bathsheba led the Silverwings into the empty garage of an airplane. Believing it to be an excellent place for them to roost for the night before continuing their trip to Hibernaculum. As soon as almost everybody was inside, Bathsheba flew into the building as well with a self-satisfied grin on her face and without waiting for Frieda, Ariel, and Mercury to catch up. The scout huffed at his leader's behavior but kept silent while politely letting the two females fly in before him. Little did they all know what danger they were all in. In fact, it didn't even take a minute after they all settled in when suddenly lights clicked on, startling the bats. Filled with panic, many of them flew away from their roost fluttered around, trying to get out.

''Go back to your roost!'' Bathsheba yelled but nobody seemed to listen to her.

Frieda wasn't feeling well about this as she noticed an enormous metal-air shaft opening in the back with a screech. ''I sense danger, Bathsheba! We must leave!''  
  
''No,'' Bathsheba disagreed, glaring at Frieda. ''I'm the leader, and I say-'' At that moment, a huge fan began to turn loudly behind the open shafts.  
''Evacuate immediately!'' Bathsheba screamed, her eyes widened in terror before dropping from her own roosting spot herself.

To make matters worse, the garage door started to close, threatening to trap them all inside. Luckily, most of them made it outside before it shut altogether, but the rest was still inside. Including Bathsheba who wildly scanned the place for another exit until her yellow eyes noticed an opening up on the arched roof. Right on time, it seemed because suddenly there was a strong pull that tried to suck her and the rest of the bats back into the shaft. She gasped from the unexpected situation and flapped her wings as hard as she could towards the exit.

Mercury was already on the other side of the opening and helped the females and pups to get out of the garage. He was just about to pull Ariel into the open when a sudden scream for help made them both look back. To their horror, one of the youngest pups in the colony got sucked in by the wind and was now clinging to a black metal contraption for dear life. The poor little thing was crying in fear and kept shouting for help. The wind was too strong for it to fly against it themselves. 

Watching what happened, Frieda hesitated not a second and let herself being sucked backward by the wind until she was right next to the pup. She grunted as she caught the metal pole to stop herself from being blown into the ventilator. Though she lost her grip for a second but caught hold of another piece of metal. She looked back at the spinning fan, imagining just how she could be ripped to shreds in seconds if she got herself caught in it. Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself back towards the pup, ''I'll cut the wind,'' she said and stood up with great difficulty, holding her wings out as she held herself in place by her feet. ''Go, now!''

The little pup wasted no time getting away from there, although it accidentally opened a metal plate with its foot. Frieda groaned as she began to drag herself forward, the wind now too strong for her to fly on her own. Mercury reached down to grab the pup before the wind sucked it back again and pulled it to safety.

Frieda continued to crawl across the metal when the metal plate closed down around her banded wrist, snagging her in place.  
Noticing her elder's predicament, Ariel swept back inside followed by Mercury. With a grunt, they landed next to Frieda and tried to pull her free, but the metal plate refused to move even an inch.

''Bathsheba!'' Ariel yelled up to the exit, ''Help us!''

''It's no use!'' the elder shouted back down after telling the pup to fly to its mother. ''Save yourselves! Leave her.'' And with a last disgusted look towards Frieda, she flew off.

''No!'' Ariel cried out. ''Bathsheba!''

Not wanting to believe that she just abandoned them all, Ariel and the other two held on for their lives as the wind just became stronger.

''Bathsheba's right! You must save yourselves!'' Frieda exclaimed loudly, because of the surrounding noises.

''What? No, Frieda, we won't leave you here.''

''You must,'' the elder insisted, ''otherwise, the colony will lose three more members.''

At her words, Mercury straightened up with a determined expression on his face and held on to the nearby pole. With visible effort, he kicked off the metal plate from Frieda's wrist. Immediately the elder was pulled back by the suction, but Ariel managed to catch her just in time. Together with Mercury, they pulled Frieda to the pole and then climbed up to the ceiling and from there through the opening in the roof. One by one, they crawled out of the building and took a short rest to calm down their nerves before flying off to catch up with their colony.

* * *

It didn't take them long to find the other Silverwings. In fact, merely meters away from the airport Mercury spotted Chinook roosting by a tree.

''You made it!'' he happily exclaimed as they flew over to him.

''Where are the others?'' Ariel asked.

''Inside.'' He nodded towards a knothole, from they could hear Bathsheba giving a rather delighted eulogy towards the colony.

''And so, Silverwings, we say farewell to Frieda and the others,'' she proclaimed. ''Their deaths were... uh... unavoidable.''

''And greatly exaggerated.''

The old she-bat gasped at the voice and turned around to see Frieda, Ariel, Mercury, and Chinook fly down into the hollow tree. All safe and sound. The colony erupted into happiness and relief, seeing they are all still alive. Frieda landed right before Bathsheba with her wings crossed before her chest and a stern look on her face.

Bathsheba couldn't believe her eyes. ''Frieda!'' she exclaimed with false happiness ''you made it.''

''Evidently, Bathsheba,'' Frieda said with a smile that promptly changed into a glare.

''My decision was made in the… interest of this colony,'' the chief elder tried to defend herself. But Frieda was far from believing those words. All she knew was that Bathsheba willfully left her and Ariel and Mercury to their dead. She had always known about her hate and jealousy against her... but that she would go so far and endanger her life and that of others... It truly shocked her. Frieda made a mental note to herself, not to forget this at all.

* * *

The next night, we went on our way to Hibernaculum. Unfortunately, Shade seemed to be lost after a while and led us to an open clearing surrounded by mines and mining carts loaded with rocks. There we landed on one cart and took a short rest.

''Ugh, this place isn't on the map,'' Shade complained. ''I told you we should have taken a left at the lake!''  
  
Marina rolled her eyes, ''I said left. You said right.''

''Oh no, no, no,'' Shade disagreed. ''We got to the lake, and I said: Let's go left!'  
  
''Shade! I was the one who said left!''

''Hey, hey, hey that’s not...''  
  
''Guys, would you please stop it! It won't help any of us if you two keep arguing over such nonsense,'' I said and stared at them both with my arms crossed, having no interest in watching their childish quarrel.

''Alright! Fine!'' Shade turned to me. ''Then you tell us, who is right.''

''What?'' Was he for real? ''Why should I get involved?''

''So that I can prove to Marina that I am the one who’s right and she will stop trying to enforce her stubbornness.''

Marina was furious. ''Well, that is...''

''I don't know who is right,'' I replied, throwing my arms up in frustration. ''And honestly, I don't care Shade. Let’s just find a way to get back on our route.''

The young Silverwing turned over to Orestes. ''What about you? Do you know who is right?''

''Please keep me out of this,'' he responded, holding his wings up in defense.

''How about we forget this whole thing and check the sound map? That should get us back on track,'' I said, trying to change the topic. Shade nodded in agreement and closed his eyes to concentrate.

* * *

Unknown to us all, Goth and Throbb were hiding in a tree at the edge of the forest, spying down on us.

''Goth,'' the smaller bat whispered, ''aren't the owls and bats supposed to be enemies?''

''Perhaps this is why almighty Zotz has brought us here,'' Goth replied, hanging upside down, ''To teach these_ weaklings_ the natural order of things.''

Throbb shuddered in hunger, hardly able to keep himself under control. ''I say we order them for lunch!'' he loudly snatched up the twig in his hands, causing Goth to painfully grab him by his mane.

''¡Idiota! You want them to hear us?'' he growled. The smaller bat shook his head.

''Eh, no, no, of course not. But why can't we just...''

Goth tightened his grip with a snarl. ''For the last time: If we eat them now, we'll be hungry by dawn! If we let Shade lead us to Hibernaculum, our bellies will be full all winter! If not- we die!''

Throbb gulped at this thought and gave a hopeful smile, ''Then...can we eat the owl?'' The look in his cousin's eyes was enough for him to instantly go back on his words. ''Ok, then not.''

* * *

With his eyes still shut, Shade concentrated hard on his sound map while we others waited for him to come out of his trance. Then finally he opened his eyes.

''There was a river,'' he told us, ''but it just ends. I can't see past it.''  
  
''Don't worry,'' Marina said soothingly, ''we'll figure it out.''

''It looks like you're getting better at that,'' Orestes added, sounding quite impressed by his abilities.  
  
Marina smirked, ''He’s getting pretty good at echo projection too!'' She looked over to Shade, ''Show him!''

Curiously, Orestes looked over to Shade who thought for a moment and then closed his eyes again. Softly hummed to himself. At first, nothing happened but then, to my surprise, I saw an image of Goth floating above us all. A little glitchy though, but still clear enough for me to see. For Marina, the projection must have looked even more intense because I saw her jumping back with a gasp.

Orestes however, seemed rather confused as looked around, trying to figure out what Shade is doing. ''I don't see anything guys.''

I blinked. ''Huh, but I thought owls are able to see echo projections just like bats.''

Orestes shrugged. ''Maybe I'm an exception.''

''Or Shade's echo projection skills are still not good enough,'' Marina guessed with a shrug.

Shade, who made his echo projection of Goth disappear, turned around and glared at her in protest. ''Hey, what's that supposed to mean?''

''Just saying Shade.''

''Or maybe,'' I quickly interfered to prevent another argue, ''The sound frequency is just too high for other animals except bats to hear.''

''Then how come you can hear and see echo projections?''

I shrugged. ''Beats me!''

* * *

Throbb was dumbfounded. What in Zotz's name was happening down there?

''Goth...'' he reached up and shook the sleeping prince awake. ''Goth! What are you doing down there?''

''Ay-yai-yai…'' Goth hissed beneath his breath, angered that he was being disturbed. ''I am trying to rest.''

''But...but...but...'' Throbb pointed down, trying to get Goth attention to what's going on with Shade and the others, but the larger bat ignored his attempts and instead turned back around. Ending the conversation by trying to go back to sleep.

Throbb kept silent for a moment and merely watched his cousin's double flouting around the mine cart where Vanessa, the owl, and the two bats stood on until he suddenly disappeared.

Now completely confused Throbb shook Goth awake again. This time, the bigger bat looked more than pissed off for being interrupted in his slumber.

''It was you. You were floating and then you just ... disappeared!'' Throbb gasped and grasped his cheeks, eyes widened. ''It was magic!''

Goth heard enough. With a furious snarl, he dropped off from his branch and forcefully grasped Throbbs mane with his claws, causing him to yell out in pain.

''I say the cold has frozen your brain!'' he growled and then ... RIP! Goth tore off a huge chunk of Throbb's mane, causing him to fall out of the tree screaming.

Fortunately, he thought about opening his wings before he crash-landed on the ground, using them as a parachute. Throbb sighed in relief and looked up to see eight eyes, staring at him in shock. He gave a sheepish chuckle, knowing that his cover was blown.

* * *

_''Throbb?'' _Me and my friends looked shocked at the sight of the Vampyrum before us. Where did he come from? Did he follow us? And more important ... ''_Where is Goth?'' _Throbb bared his teeth, with a growl, looking ready to attack. From above came another growl and Goth swung down from a tree, charging straight at us. _''Nevermind!''_  
  
Immediately, Shade grabbed my hands with his feet and dashed towards the entrance of the mines, followed by Marina and Orestes.

I dared not to look back as we rushed the mine caverns with Goth and Throbb on our heels. Suddenly the way before us split into two and without thinking, we split up. Me and Shade going right, Marina and Orestes going left. Goth followed us while Throbb went after Marina and Orestes.   
  
''HURRY, SHADE!'' I cried out, then turned around hearing a snarl and gasped, noticing Goth so close behind us. ''_Just like back at the power station,'' _I thought and just in time lift my legs before Goth could sink his teeth into them. Shade flew as fast as he could, but no matter how many turns we took, Goth was still behind us.

We barely crashed into Marina and Orestes as we reached another intersection and kept on flying and flying. Then Shade flew up into a wooden elevator shaft, thinking this could be our way out.

Again I urged him to hurry. Hearing Goth’s sinister laugh only inches away from us. Then suddenly I thought I heard something rumble above us. ''Eh, Shade what's ...'' Not listening to me, Shade let out a sound wave to check what's going on. Almost instantly I heard something big falling down in our direction. With a scream, Shade made a turn and rushed back the way we came from.

''OUT OF THE WAY!'' I yelled as we passed Goth, who looked confused seeing us coming back. Shade dived as fast as he could, causing my hood to fall from my head and my hair to flutter wildly in the airstream. Behind us, I could hear Goth panting heavily, as he tried to escape the falling elevator as well.

Shortly before it crashed onto the floor, Shade and I made it out safely and watched the elevator shatter into pieces. He landed us on the ground and we turned around wondering what happened to Goth. At first, I saw only dust swirling around and thought we lost him for good. But as the smoke began to clear, a few wooden planks began to shake and the Vampyrum burst out from underneath. He glared at us with pure hate and screamed with rage. Immediately, Shade grabbed my hands again and fled into another tunnel.

''Faster! FASTER!'' I urged, but it was clear to see how exhausted Shade was. His wingbeats were getting weaker, and he was breathing heavier than before.

I was just about to tell Shade he should drop me on the ground, assuming we might have a better chance if I run and hide behind some rocks while he keeps on flying without me clinging on him when suddenly I felt something grabbing me by my cloak. With a yelp, I got yanked out of Shade's grip and got engulfed in a huge wing.

I tried to fight my way out by kicking and pushing against it, but Goth simply pulled me closer to his chest. With a laugh, he reopened his wing and held me by the back of my cloak while I grasped the front, trying not to choke and struggled and kicked with all my strength.

''A little feisty aren't we, señorita?" He grinned down on me and I frowned, ready to kick him in the face. Then Shade swooped down and bit into Goth's ear, making him let go of me while screaming in pain.

With a grunt, I landed hard on my bottom and then looked up to see now Shade being in the cannibals grasp.

''You are really getting onto my nerves ¡enano!'' He growled while holding Shade by the collar.

The little Silverwing tried his best to get free, but Goths grip was just too strong.

''Let him go!'' I shouted and jumped at his arm, wanting to help my friend out. Goth just huffed at my attempt and brushed my off without effort, causing me to fall back down and right on my injured arm. I gasped in pain as the wound hit the hard stones on the ground. That was really not a nice feeling.

''Vanessa!'' I heard Shade calling my name, but before I could answer, I felt rumbling around us. Seconds later, the whole place shook like an earthquake with rocks and stones tumbling down on us. Instinctively I made myself as small as possible and pulled my hood deep over my head. Thanks to the turbulences, Shade managed to brake free from Goth and rushed over to wrap his wings protectively around me while everything around us collapsed.


	27. Trapped in the mine

High above, at the top of a bare tree, General Brutus watched as his second-in-command Lieutenant Atlas landing on a branch right next to him.

''Sir, we are getting reports of Silverwings in this area,'' he reported.

''Excellent! I want all forces in this valley by dawn.''

Atlas saluted and was about to carry out his general's order when something else occurred to him. ''Shall I send a scout to look for Orestes?'' he asked but Brutus shook his head.

''Hmpf, No. He's probably looking for bugs under a rock somewhere.''

Atlas nodded, although he didn't approve of the carelessness of his commandant towards his own son. Would he even care if the boy was in real danger? Probably not. But be that as it may, it was not his job to tell Brutus how to handle his child but to carry out his orders.

Little did he know that General Brutus actually did worry about his son. It wasn't like Orestes to be away from their nest for a whole day. But maybe he was just busy counting all those stupid new bugs he found. 

He shook his head. Right now, the top priority was to capture and punish these criminal Silverwings. After that he could look for his son. He just hoped that he was right, and that Orestes was indeed out of danger.

* * *

As the cave in finally came to a stop, Orestes and Marina were shocked to see the entrance to the tunnel they had seen Vanessa and Shade fly into blocked by a wall of rocks and stones.

''Guys?'' Marina called out, flying up to the wall. ''Shade! Vanessa! Are you ok? Answer please!''

Nothing. Either the wall was too thick for them to hear her or ... No! Shaking her head, Marina refused to even think her friends to be hurt or worse.

''Marina, let's move away those rocks!'' Orestes suggested and began to kick away some lose rocks on the wall. Knowing it was better than doing nothing, she helped him at once. They barely made any success when they heard a groan right behind them. Turning around, Marina saw Throbb waking up from being unconscious for a while after hitting his head hard on a rock during the turbulences.

The Vampyrum sat up, rubbing his head, still feeling pain but it was dull. Then he turned around and his eyes focused on Marina. She gasped and unfurled her wings to flee but her foot got caught in a rockslide, Orestes caused by moving another stone.

Throbb licked his lips, happy to see his prey unable to escape.

Marina tried to move, but her foot was stuck. With horror she saw Throbb getting nearer, teeth bared. ''No, No!'' she called, getting Orestes attention. But when the young owl turned around, he accidentally stumbled over a loose stone, causing it to flung right against Throbb's head.

''Ah!''

Marina and Orestes both watched Throbb lying back down on his back and assumed he got knocked out again. But then he sat back up again.

''Argh! Hey!'' he hissed, clutching his head. ''What's the deal with throwing stones at my head?''

''Eh, s-sorry,'' Orestes gulped, not liking to see the angry glare the Vampyrum was giving him.

Throbb got back up on his feet, still holding his hurting head. As if he hadn't endured enough pain already. First, he got knocked out by a rock while chasing after the two northerners, whereupon he accidentally kicked a rock onto an old elevator which then almost crushed Shade, Vanessa and Goth. And then he finds himself sitting in a quick moving mine cart. Giving him the worst experience of a roller coaster ride, until the tracks ran out, causing the cart to topple over and to him to be knocked out once again due to slamming his head against a wall.

Besides that, all Throbb remembered was a loud rumbling and stones and rocks falling down everywhere. Though he didn't care much about it. His top priority was food.

And how lucky he was to see his delicious bat meal unable to fly away from him.

Marina shrieked as Throbb came closer to her again. ''Help!'' she cried out while struggling to get her foot free.

Before the fat Vampyrum could lunge forward, Orestes quickly jumped between them and spread out his wings with his feathers puffed out to make himself looker bigger and threating.

Throbb however, wasn't impressed. ''And what's that supposed to be now?'' he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Orestes flattened his feathers again but kept glaring at Throbb. ''I won't let you eat Marina,'' he said, trying to sound less scared than he actually was.

The Vampyrum laughed. ''Yeah, right. As if you could stop me.''

''Don't you think there is something more important to do then stuffing your belly?''

''And what?'' Throbb crossed his wings before his chest and glared at Marina in annoyance while the Brightwing looked around, desperately searching for something to say.

''Well, ehm... ''

''What about your cousin?'' Orestes suddenly said, getting Throbbs attention. ''Instead of ...well, killing us two, you should rather help us move these rocks away so we can free the others who are trapped on the other side.'' He motions towards the solid wall of rocks and stones right behind them.

''Wait! Are you saying Goth is trapped behind all those stones?'' His eyes widened at the thought of his cousin might never getting out of there if they don't dig him out.

''¡Mi primo! No te preocupes, te sacaré de aquí.'' (''My cousin! Don't worry, I'll get you out of here.'')

Before Marina or Orestes could blink, Throbb rushed over to the wall and began to move away the rocks as fast as he could.

* * *

As soon as everything went quiet again, Shade pulled his wings away from me and together we pushed ourselves out of the rubble. We coughed a lot thanks to the dust floating around that also stung in our eyes and covered Shade's fur and my hair and clothes.

I rubbed my eyes, even though it didn’t make things better, then turned around, hearing rocks moving on the ground. Seconds later Goth crawled free from beneath the rocks, gasping for air. Before we could even say something, Goth spotted us and launched at us with a growl. Without thinking, Shade and I quickly jumped out of the way. I hissed as my wounded arm got cut open on the sharp rocks and grasped it with my other hand, slightly cursing in my mind.

''W-wait!'' I heard Shade yelling in desperation and turned around to see Goth advancing on him with his fangs bared, ready to bite. ''You need me! To help you get out of here!''  
  
Goth laughed with his claw pointed at Shade. ''You couldn't dig your way out of here in a hundred lifetimes!'' he said and stood up, flaring out his massive wings. His muscles visibly moving beneath the fur, ''Tú, enano arrogante.'' (''You arrogant runt'')  
  
Shade frowned. ''What does that even mean?''

''He is calling you a runt in spanish,'' I said, still holiding my wrist which was bleeding a bit thanks to the sharp rocks.

Shade huffed and crossed his arms, obviously unhappy that he once again was called by this stupid nickname. Now he also got insulted in another language.''

''Oh, I didn't know you know spanish señorita,'' Goth said, looking down at me curiously.

''I merely know a few words, but it's pretty obvious what you said to him.''

Goth huffed and then turned around to study the huge rock wall that blocked our exit. He grabbed a random stone, almost half the size of himself and pulled it away with great effort. I felt impressed by his strength, but as a consequence of not thinking ahead, Goth accidentally triggered a larger rock to fall from its place. Luckily, he moved out of the way before the stone could crush him.

* * *

Throbb grunted as he pushed away the rock that landed on his wingtip.

''See, I told you that was a bad idea,'' Marina said, ''Those rocks are all balanced together, grabbing the wrong one could be our end.''

''So, what do you suggest we do instead?'' Throbb had no interest in chitchatting. He rather prefered to free his cousin as soon as possible. As mean as Goth has always been to him. He was still family. Furthermore, Throbb did not wish to be alone in this cold land.

''I have to admit, he is right,'' Orestes added, ''If we don't move the rocks our friends ... and Goth will be stuck on the other side. And who knows if there is another exit from where they are.''

''I know but if we act rashly, it could cost us all our lives. We need to be careful.''

''Then what should we do? Sitting around won't help us at all.''

Marina thought about this while taking a good look at the stone blockade in front of them.

''Well, I think I've got an idea,'' she finally said. ''But we have to work together in order for it to work.''

''Don't worry Marina. You surely can count on me,'' Orestes replied. looking eager to help.

She turned over to the cannibal. ''What about you?''

Throbb huffed and crossed his arms. ''Why should I help you?''

''Uh, to free your brother?''

''Cousin!''

''Whatever!'' Marina rolled her eyes with a sigh. ''Listen, we need your help. Orestes and I can't do it alone. It will take too long.'' Throbb still didn't seem convinced. ''Look, I know you want to go home and I know you want Goth to be free. So let us work together.''

He sighed. ''Alright fine. I'll help you.''

''Good, but first you have to promise us something.''

''Ugh, and what?''

* * *

''You have to promis to let me and my friends go.''

I looked up to see Goth thinking about Shade’s precondition and noticed him trying to hide a smirk.

_''He is planning something,''_ I thought and Shade seemed to think so as well.

''We don't trust you,'' he said narrowing his eyes after we exchanged a short glance, causing Goth to gasped as if he just hurt his feelings.

''¿Cómo puedes?'' (''How could you?'') With fake dismay he put a hand on his heart and leaned down to my and Shade's eye level ''You two are insulting my honor.''

_''What honor?'' _I thought.

''You have to swear to this old...uh...oh what's his name? Zitz?'' Shade smirked.  
  
Wrath burned in Goth's eyes. ''ZOTZ!'' he bellowed, causing us to quickly move further away. ''How dare you blaspheme the almighty king of darkness?!''  
  
''Hey! If you won't swear, we won't help!'' I said, glaring at him with my arms crossed.

Goth growled under his breath and looked at us both for a second before finally giving in.

''Alright, I swear by Zotz if we get out of here, I'll let you both and your friends go.'' He bowed a little, as if to emphasize his words, ''but I also swear that if there are any more tricks, I will tear out your hearts and eat them.''

I gulped. Somehow I got the feeling that this was the only part in his promise he truly intended to keep.

* * *

Marina flew up to another stone and pointed to the one to her left. ''This one,'' she said and watched Throbb moving it out of its place.

Orestes cleared his throat. ''So, uhm, I've heard you and Goth are from the jungle. It must be very hot there, they say.''

Throbb ignored the young owls attempt to make small talk and instead kept on moving the rocks and stones away.

"The colors, the variety of species. Must be great down there. ''  
  
''Save it Orestes,'' Marina said, watching Throbb work. For her id didn't seem like the Vampyrum was interested in a conversation with them.

''But I was just...''

''The jungle is a beautiful place. The best place I'm happy to call home.''

Marina and Orestes turned to Throbb, who had stopped working. His hands resting on a rock while standing with the back to them.

''I would lie if I told you I wouldn't miss the heat or family since the moment Goth and I got captured. How much I wished that after we escaped from that fake jungle to be reunited with my parents and friends.''

Marina and Orestes said nothing at first and just kept looking at Throbb, feeling a hint of sympathy for him.

''Say,... are all southern bats like you or Goth?'' Orestes carefully asked.

Throbb turned around, facing them again, thinking about this. "Nah, I'd say Goth is one of a kind. Though King Deimos is very much like him in behavior. Then again, he is his father after all.

''I see,'' Marina said and exchanged another short glance with Orestes.

Throbb watches them with his head tilt. ''Say, how come an owl is traveling together with bats? I thought you guys were enemies.''

His question surprised Marina but on the other hand it was quite well justified.

''You see, we met Orestes when he was trapped in a net made by humans and after we freed him, he became our friend.''

Throbb was confused. ''You freed him? But why?''

''Because a friend once told us not to underestimate...''

* * *

''...the power of an act of kindness, even to your enemy,'' said Shade, and I looked up only to see that Goth no longer stood where he was before. Confused, I looked around, not noticing that the Vampyrum was right behind the young Silverwing.

Hearing his outcry I spun back around and gasped seeing Goth hovered over the small bat on all fours.  
  
''Your friend is a fool! Kindness allows the weak to live when they are meant to die!'' Goth barred his fangs dangerously close to Shade's face.

''Hey, you gave us your word!''   
  
Goth slowly turned his face to me, not looking pleased that I dared to interfere. Then there was a silence between the three of us that felt like hours. But eventually Goth huffed and drew back. ''So I did...'' he said quietly and turned back to continue with the work.

I sighed with relief and walked over to Shade.

''Are you ok?'' I whispered and held out my hand to help him get back up.

''I'm fine. But that sure was close!'' He grabbed my hand and I pulled him back to his feet.

''Do you think he will keep his promise and leave us alone as soon as we are out?''

''I'm not sure, but for now we need his help or will be stuck here forever.''

With that he flew over to Goth to show him which stone he should move next.

I let out a sigh and sat down for a moment. My wrist started hurting again, so I pulled up the silk sleeve to see that the skin around the wound was red. _''Hopefully it doesn't get infected,''_ I thought and pulled the sleeve back down. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore.

In the corner of my eyes I noticed some movements between two stones and then watched a spider crawling out and down the wall.

I was shocked. This spider was almost as big as my hand. Just like a tarantula would if I was in my original size. Speaking of... How big was a trantula right now compared to my current size anyway? Thinking of it I didn't want to know.

A few minutes or hours later. It is hard to keep track of time when you are stuck in a mine. I looked around to see how far we have come so far. My heart sank. After working for so long, there was still no way for us to get out. But I also knew that we couldn't give up just yet. So pulled my sleeves up and helped to move a few smaller stones out of the way in hope to open a small opening or something like that.

Moving around in this long pink dress, which I was still wearing, didn't make things easier. At least two times, I stumbled over the hem of the dress and nearly fell on my face. Causing me to curse each time a little in my head while hoping to get rid of these clothes as soon as possible. But eventually I managed to get some work done nevertheless.

''Leave it Vanessa. This one is too big.'' Shade said as he noticed me trying to push a rather large stone out of its place.

''It's fine. I'm sure I can move it,'' I replied and pushed stronger against it.

''You should listen to your little friend señorita. There is no way you can move this rock without hurting yourself.''

I frowned down at Goth who looked up on me with a smug grin on his face. Feeling determined to prove this guy wrong, I climbed over the rock on to another and pushed my feet hard against it. At first nothing happened, and I heard Goth chuckling in amusement of my pitiful try. But then I felt the rock under my feet getting loose and pushed harder until I made it roll out of its place. Just to fall down straight onto Goth's foot. 

''AH! Curse almighty Zotz!'' Goth roared in pain.

''Sorry,'' I said, but not without satisfaction and climbed back down to the ground.

Shade fluttered down to the Vampyrum as well, looking puzzled from what he heard him just say. ''How can you...?''

''You know nothing of Zotz!'' Goth cut him off, breathing heavily after tugging his foot out from underneath the stone. There was a bruise on it but other than that it looked fine but definitely hurt like hell according to the look on his face. ''He takes pleasure in testing the faithful,'' Goth continued and flinched as he tried to squeeze the pain out of his foot with his hands, ''even his most loyal prince who served him well all these years.'' His gaze went down at the ground, causing me and Shade to look down as well.

''Zotz is...down there?'' Shade asked nervously.  
  
Goth chuckled, ''you doubt it?''

''Eh...'' Not knowing what to say Shade turned to me, but I just shrugged.

''Zotz lives in the molten core of the earth. His head is a giant bat's skull with blood-red eyes and razor teeth to slice the flesh of those who mock him.''  
  
''You... have seen him?'' I asked, wondering if this Zotz guy truly existed. Thinking about this, I rembered hearing about this god from mayan mythology before.Interesting to know that there were animals who believed in the existence of a deity humans once believed in as well.

Goth let out a small sigh and the menacing undertone in his voice vanished, “Eh, no… but you hear things.''  
  
We three went silent for a moment. Then Shade went off to contiue to work on a way out. I wanted to follow him but got stopped by Goth who grabbed me by my arm.   
  
''Don't you dare touch anything!''

_''Well, Someone's been vindictive,''_ I thought but nodded. The angry look on Goth face told me enough not to mess with him. Satisfied he let go of me and turned his attention back to his foot while I walked a few feet away from him and sat down on a rock. There I pursued my own thoughts while waiting for Shade to find a way for us to get out of here.

Hearing coughing, I turned around and saw Shade shaking his head while also rubbing some dust out of his eyes.

''Are you ok?'' I asked and walked over to him.

''I'm fine,'' he replied coughing once more, ''just got some dirt sprayed to my face while digging between those stones here.

Curiously I took a look at what he was talking about and happily noticed a small tunnel, big enough for us to crawl through.

''Hey, Shade I think you found an exit.''

''Really?''

I nodded and without thinking further I crawled through the hole and into the tunnel, followed by Shade. We didn't get far, though. After only a few meters another rock blocked our way.

''Just great. What now?'' hissed Shade.

I was just about to answer when I noticed the rock move. Seconds later it was out of the way and I stared straight into Throbbs face. Shade gasped behind me and grabbed my hand to pull me away from him as suddenly Marina appeared in fron of the entrance as well.

''Thanks Nocturna, you guys are ok,'' she said, smiling with joy.

''More or less.'' I replied, still eyeing the Vampyrum.

Throbb just grunted as Shade and I climbed out of the hole. Marina quickly embraced us both and I could see Orestes sighing in relieve to see us being alright.

''Come on guys, let's get the hell out of here,'' I said.

My friends nodded in agreement, but before we could leave, Throbb spoke up.

''Hey, what about my cousin?'' He asked and then we heard Goth's calling from the other side, knowing that he has noticed by now that Shade and I were no longer with him.

''You promised you would help me get him out if I helped you.'' Throbb continued and stared reproachfully at Marina and Orestes. Both looking away, unsure what to say.

Meanwhile, I climbed back to the hole and took a look through it.

''You haven't forgotten about me now, have you?'' I heard Goth's voice asking with hope.

I was silent for a moment. We did promise to get him out and Marina and Orestes said the same to Throbb. We can't go back on that. On the other hand. Who said Goth would honor his part of the deal when he got free. Maybe it was better to just let him stuck there where he was.

''You gave me your word!''

I grimaced hearing Goth's voice echoing from the other side with desperation and sighed.

''Guys, let's get him out.''

''What?'' Marina cried out. ''Vanessa, he wants to kill us. We can't let him free.''

''But we gave him our word, like you gave Throbb here.'' I nodded towards the Vampyrum who checked the area around the hole to find a way to make it bigger for his cousin to get through.

Marina looked still unsure, ''But...''

''She is right,'' Shade added, ''Even though Goth is not the type of bat who keeps his promises, we do.'' And with that he flew back to the rocky wall and checked the stones until he found the one he was looking for. ''This one! Throbb you have to push this rock here out of its place while I go back to Goth and tell him to do the same on the other side.'' The Vampyrum nodded and immediatelly went to work while Shade flutter back to the hole and crawled inside.

It took a few minutes but then the top rocks began to fall from their places and I quickly ran over to Marina and Orestes not wanting to get hit by one of them. When the cave finally stopped shaking  
and the sound of the rumbling rocks ceased, I carefully took a peek from behind Orestes wing to see what had happened.

The rock wall in front of us was kinda still there but it has shrunked to a low size, making it easy to get from one size to the other.

Wanting to know if Shade was alright I run over to the rocks, coughing because of the dirt and dust flying everywhere and peered over the other side.

Scanning the area I quickly managed to spot him and the Vampyrum prince safe and sound but coughing as well. But for some reason I couldn't find Throbb anywhere.

After calming down, Goth looked around and smiled with delight to see that he was free. Shade hopped over, looking happy that his idea worked. Goth turned his gaze to the Silverwing and for a moment it seemed like he wanted to thank him for getting him out.

Big Mistake!

His smile turned into a soft growl and before I could even react, Goth's arm shot out and he grabbed Shade by his throat, lifting him off the ground.

''No!'' I shouted and heard Marina and Orestes gasping at what they saw.

Shade grabbed the hand that was strangling him with his own, trying to free himself.

''Was this part of your deal?'' Marina snapped.

''You promised you would let us go!'' I called out, frowning at him.

Goth threw his head back and laughed, ''How naive! Did you really believe I would give up on my goal so easily? One way or another, I will get to Hibernaculum. I plan to have a few of your relatives over for dinner.'' He raked his tongue across his fangs as he stared hungrily down at Shade.

Shade's eyes widen and he tried more to get free, just to make Goth tighten his grib.

''Y-you swore ... o-on the name o-of...Z-zotz!'' Shade gasped, his voice raspy from the lack of oxygen he was gettin.

''So?'' Goth glared down at him, not looking the least bit perturbed.

''You c-can't ...dis...dishonor Zotz!''

Goth sneered, ''I answer to no one!'' he thrust Shade up higher into the air, who was now having even more trouble to breath.

Watching him worriedly I quickly said. ''Well, I think Zotz would disagree! You know, if he were here right now...'' An idea was forming in my mind, but I was unsure if it would work because Shade wasn't in a good condition right now. However, he seemed to get what I was going for and closed his eyes in order to concentrated as good as he could.

''Y-yeah! That's right Goth!'' Marina nodded vigorously in order to distraced the Vampyrum from what Shade was doing. ''Zotz would be plenty annoyed hearing you talk like that.''

''Yeah he would, whoever you're talking about…'' Orestes added with a whisper towards Marina, having no idea of what was going on.

''Silence!'' Goth bellowed over at us with a snarl, ''you three will be next!''

_''And who will lead you to Hibernaculum, if you kill us all?'' _I wondered.

Not wanting Goth, to turn his attention back the boy in his grasp I began to think of something else to say as a gasped came from Marina. ''I- It's unbelievable!''

''Yeah, it's amazing! It's beautiful,'' Orestes said in an overblown tone despite the fact he couldn't see anything at all of that was happening, instantly earning a stab in the chest by Marina's ellbow.

''Uh, in a very...ugly way.'' The young owl quickly added, causing Marina to roll her eyes a bit.

I shook my head a little in amusement then turned back around and nearly cried out at the sight before my eyes.

Goth looked down at me, confused about my reaction then noticed fog spreading out from behind him. Visibly getting nervous Goth slowly put Shade, who was still humming with his eyes closed, back to the ground and carefully turned around.

Two giant yellow glowing orbs appeared in the mist, followed by a gigantic bat scull with a double row of razor-sharp teeth. Each the size of short swords.

In the corner of my eyes I noticed Goth shaking in fear with a mixture of shock and amazement written on his face.

The gigantic monstrous creature with a skeletal appearance that slightly resembled a bat, rose over the prince and roared.

''C-cama Zotz!'' The Vampyrum's voice cracked as he trembled in front of the creature, believing it to be none other that his god himself.

The giant bat made a tent barrier around Goth with his massive transparent wings, separating him from the rest of us.

**''Bow before me…'' **Zotz growled darkly, his glowing eyes narrowing.

Shakely, Goth fell to his knees and bowed his head before his god.

**''Goth, you have made a promise to the Human and the Silverwing.''**

''Y-yes, master,'' Goth whimpered, ''b-but only to trick them.''

**''But you swore by me.''**

''But...but…'' Goth seemed so scared that he failed to notice the sound of another voice underneath the god's. Shade's

**''Never have I known a bat so… disobedient. So disloyal…''** Shade made his echo projection say, **''so deceitful…so...''**

I grinned as a word popped up in my mind. ''Naughty!'' I offered.

Shade smirked, **''yes...naughty.''**

Marina and Orestes chuckled behind their wings.

''**Say it!'' **Zotz commanded, **''I am a naughty bat.''**

Goth hesitated and I knew he could here us giggling, but at the moment, there really wasn't anything he could do in fear of Zotz's wrath. So he gave in, ''I-I...am a naughty bat,'' he repeated quietly and flinched when Zotz snarled down at him.

**''AGAIN AND AGAIN! BUT WITH MORE FEELING! NOW! AND DON'T STOP UNTIL I SAY SO!''**

Whimpering and sniveling, Goth immediatelly followed Zotz orders not wanting to anger his god any further. ''I-I am a naughty bat! Such a naughty, naughty bat!'' He clasped his hands together and pressed his forehead against the ground. ''So naughty! My naughtiness must be punished!''

I had to hold my mouth in order not to burst out laughing, but this was just too priceless. I wish I had a camera to capture this scene. Oh my Gosh! Goth was actually crying!

Eventually, Shade opened his eyes and grinned before flying over to grab my hands with his feet and then fly outside with Marina and Orestes following us.

The echo projection of Zotz vanished in a burst of light as soon as we left, leaving the fooled prince curled up on the ground, not raising his head and repeating the same words over and over.

''Oh, I am a naughty bat!'' he wailed, his voice raising a few octaves. ''Bad Goth. Such a naughty, naughty bat!''

Once out, we four burst out laughing like crazy and took off into the air, free to continue our journey to Hibernaculum.

* * *

Throbb was still baffed at what he had witnessed.

As the rock wall broke down, one of the stones hit him hard on the head, knocking him out for a few minutes. But as soon as gained consciousness, he first thought he hit his head too hard and was now hallucinating. Never in his life had he seen such a giant bat-like creature that was standing above his cousin. Not even in his wildest dreams.

Was...was this really Cama Zotz? The almighty lord of the underworld? How was this possible?

Then something strange happened. Captured by the sight of the god, he noticed too late that Vanessa, the owl, and the two bats fled out of the mine. Leaving him, Goth and Zotz behind, who for some reason, suddenly disappeared.

The chubby Vampyrum blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes, but the image was gone. As well were the four youngsters. Only left were Throbb himself and Goth, who was still crouching on all fours, sobbing and repeating the same words over and over again. He even switched to his native tongue while still saying the same thing.

"¡Soy un murciélago tan travieso! ¡Un murciélago travieso, travieso, travieso, travieso! ¡Soy tan terrible y debo ser castigado!"

Feeling unsure what to do, Throbb rubbed his neck and looked around before kneeling down beside his cousin. He wrapped one wing around Goth's back and gently patted his arm, trying to comfort him. ''Está bien. Está bien.'' (''It's okay. It's okay.'')


	28. Underground

Resting at the edge of a large clearing, the Silverwing colony waited for their messenger to return with the information they needed.

''Where is that Mercury?'' Bathsheba growled with impatience, her mood being consistently sour since the moment Frieda returned unharmed.

''Give him time,'' Frieda said while hanging next to her and Ariel. ''It is better to be safe.''

Bathsheba's fur stood up in indignation. ''I don't need your advice.'' she scoffed and turned her back on the old bat. ''Mercury can catch up.'' She unfurled her wings and cried out to her colony, ''Follow me!'' Without another look at Frieda, she began to lead the colony onward.

With a sigh, Frieda glanced sadly at Ariel, whose eyes reflected the same feeling before following the stubborn elder into the open.

Soon after they heard Mercury calling out in alarm and looked to see the scout hurrying over to Bathsheba. Fear on his face.

''Owls!'' he cried out as soon as he caught up, ''right behind me!''

Bathsheba was shocked, ''Silverwings! Back to the woods!''

''No!'' the chief elder raised her head to see Frieda glaring at her. ''It's too far,'' she said.

''She's right,'' Mercury agreed. ''It's too dangerous!''

Scared and confused, the Silverwings had no idea whose order they should follow.

There was no time. Without thinking further, Frieda acted at once and raised her voice for everyone to hear.

''Follow me to that tree!'' she called out and took off to the direction of a lone tree.

''That tree isn't hollow!'' Bathsheba yelled after her. ''I said, back to the woods!'' She turned to fly in the opposite direction. But looking over her shoulder, she realized that none of the others listened to her and instead followed Frieda. Angered but with no options left, Bathsheba turned around with a huff and did her best to catch up with everyone.

At the tree, all bats hung upside down from the branches with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies. Giving them the appearance of leaves. Just in time as the owls came into view.

General Brutus himself was flying in front and circled around their tree, feeling suspicious that the Silverwings should be around somewhere. However, the camouflage was too much for him to see through. Grunting with annoyance, he returned to his soldiers and kept flying ahead.

A few minutes after they were gone Frieda felt safe enough to unfurl her wings, followed by Mercury.

''All clear!'' he announced.

One by one, each bat reopened their wings, looking anxiously around. Realising the danger had passed, they began to relax. Then they all looked up at Frieda, awaiting their next course of action.

Lucretia called for another quick leadership vote to decide who the colony should follow the rest of the way. And everyone, except Bathsheba raised their wing for Frieda, making her their chief elder again.

The old bat smiled. It felt good to have her colonies trust back. Without a word, she rose from the tree and led the Silverwings onwards to Hibernaculum.  
No one looked back to wait for Bathsheba. Pure hate gleamed in the elder eyes as she glared after Friede before eventually following her as well.

* * *

''And did you get a load of that face?'' Marina asked with excitement, still enjoying the moment of Goth crying like a child while repeating 'I'm a naughty bat.' Over and over again. ''Oh, those teeth! How cool!''

Shade laughed as we landed on a branch. ''Zotz! The demon bat at the center of the Earth?'' he exaggerated a scary face causing Marina and me to break out into laughter.

''Oh boy,'' I rubbed a tear out of my eyes for laughing so hard. ''That was something.''

''Yeah,'' Marina chuckled, ''But you better hope you never run into the real Zotz''

''You think he even exists?''

She shrugged. ''Who knows? But I'm not eager to find out the truth.''

''Uh, guys?'' Our attention was caught by Orestes' frightened voice. ''I might think we should be more concerned about the- umm…'' he trailed off with a nervous laugh and I followed his gaze up to the sky.

The two bats and I gasped at the sight of an army of owls, right above the treetops. Led by none other than Orestes' father General Brutus. We all stood very still and waited for the birds to fly past.

''There's my father gathering his troops,'' Orestes glared after them with disgust. ''This war is so wrong.''

''Huh, I never thought I'd hear those words come from the beak of an owl,'' Shade crossed his wings as he looked curiously at Orestes, who turned away looking upset.

Shade let out a deep sigh. ''Hibernaculum is no longer safe,'' he admitted.

''What are we going to do when we get there?'' I asked with worry. ''If we and the Silverwings can't stay there. Where should we go?''

Shade shook his head, seemingly having no idea as well.

''Maybe Ursa can help us?'' Marina suggested.

''Ursa?''

''You know, the white black bear.''

''But how can she help us? Brutus banished her to the eastern valley,'' said Shade.

''I know but we need all the help we can get.''

I nodded. ''She is right Shade. We need to find Ursa and ask for her help.''

The young Silverwing looked unsure to either agree or disagree with our proposal.

''You guys have a point,'' he finally admits. ''But the eastern valley isn't small. Ursa could be everywhere and we need to get to Hibernaculum as soon as possible.

I sighed, knowing he was right and pulled my cloak closer around me because of the cold.

''Maybe I can find her,'' Orestes suggested, causing me to look back up.

''Huh? Are you sure?''

''Well, it is worth a try. I may not know the eastern valley like the back of my feathers, but father sometimes took me out for a flight around that area when I was younger. So I know a few places to look for her. Besides you guys need to reach Hibernaculum before my dad and those meat-eating bats.''

''Thank you Orestes,'' Shade said with a smile. ''Hopefully you can find her.''

''Yeah,'' I agreed, smiling as well but then thought about something. ''Wait, Orestes doesn't know where Hibernaculum is. How will he get back to us?''

Shade thought for a moment then lid up his eyes and snapped his fingers. ''The river! Just followed it to where it ends and we meet you there again.''

Orestes nodded. ''Alright. I will see you guys there then.''

With a smile we embraced each other in our wings and arms and said our goodbyes to Orestes before lifting off and parting our ways with the owl.

* * *

A few hours later we came to the edge of a huge junkyard that was filled with all kinds of stuff like broken car wrecks, battered musty wooden boxes and holey mattresses.

A foul smell lingered in the air and the absence of any life made me feel uneasy. Only a few insects were buzzing around the light of a street lamp. But other than that, it was quiet. Too quiet!

''I'm starving. Come on, guys let's go grab some bugs.'' Shade suggested while we hid in the shadow of a tree.

''I don't know Shade,'' Marina said, glancing round nervously. ''This place far too open. You saw the owl and who knows where Goth is.''

I nodded thinking the same. He and his cousin most likely left the mines by now as well, and I didn't want to imagine what would happen when they find us. If Goth had been angry at us after the incident at the power station, he surely must be pissed off after what happened in the mine.

Unfortunately, Shade wasn't as concerned. ''Oh what,'' he said, waving off, ''With all the stuff over there we can easily find a place to hide if necessary.''

''Shade...''

Not listening to us the Silverwing took off, leaving Marina no choice but to grab my hands with her feet and to follow him. Unlike Shade, she barely focused on catching mosquitoes and instead kept glancing around, expecting danger falling upon us any second.

"This place is so creepy."

''You can say that again,'' I replied under my breath and looked around as well. I had never been to a junkyard before and I had to admit, it did look creepy, especially since it was in the middle of the night.

We kept flying around some more until we spotted a beaten up red car and swooped down to it for some rest. Marina landed me on the car seat and then roosted upside down on the rear mirror with Shade to her left.

''Does this feel safer?'' he asked.

Suddenly I gasped noticing a dark shadow whooshing over the mirror screen.

''Guys! Did...did you see that?'' I asked, and another shadow passed by, causing all three of us to flinch.

''W-what do you think it it?'' Shade stammered.

''I-I don't know but I'm not going to wait and find out.'' Panic stricken, the young Brightwing wasted no time but to swoop out of the car as fast as possible.

Shade quickly grabbed my hands and hurried after her. Shortly after he landed on a crate between some wrecked car parts.

''Guys let's leave this place before...'' The sound of a bell ringing cut me off and my blood froze. Like in slow motion, I turned my head around and saw Throbb playing around with a bicycle bell.

He immediately spotted us and smirked with glee. ''Hola!'' he greeted us.

Then without warning, two muscular arms burst through the wood under our feet and grasped Shade and I by one of our legs.

Bright yellow eyes and a fanged smile stared back up at us from the darkness. ''Hola…'' Goth greeted smoothly and then yanked us inside, causing both of us to cry out.

''Guys!'' I heard Marina calling to us before painfully hitting the ground with my back.

''Ouch!''

I was lucky not to have broken anything and quickly rolled out of the way as Goth tried to launch at me with a roar. His fangs made a loud snapping noise when Shade crossed his way and he ripped another hole in the crate's ceiling trying to swipe at him.

Pieces of wood flew around and I hid in a corner not wanting to get struck while Goth and Throbb started chasing my friends through the junkyard. Knowing I had to help them, I left my hiding spot and dashed after the bats. I ran across the junk as fast as I could, not caring if my dress got ripped or torn.

By the time I finally caught up to them, Goth and Throbb had flown straight into a car's rear mirror, mistaking Marina's and Shade's reflection for them.  
The two young bats used that opportunity to fly away, and I turned heels to get away as well, before the two Vampyrum would notice me.

Running around another corner, I accidentally slipped over a piece of metal and dropped down on my belly.

''Argh, great,'' I grumbled and picked myself up. Then something pushed me in the back and pressed me hard to the ground.

Hearing a dark chuckle behind me, I immediately knew that it was Goth who got me and tried to get up. But the Vampyrum was too strong.

''Got ya!'' I heard him say in a sing-song voice, his claws digging through my dress and into my skin.

I yelped in pain as he took a fistful of my hair and pulled me back, my spine protesting greatly of the lack of flexibility to bend backwards like that.

''Now, how should I kill you, hm?'' he asked smoothly, his hot breath close to my ear. ''Should I slice your neck and let you suffocate by your own blood or be more traditional and rip out your heart to offer it to Cama Zotz? I'm sure he would be delighted.''

I had enough. There was no way I would let him hurt me without even trying to fight back.

I quickly scanned the area, spotting a piece of glass and reached out to grab it.

Unfortunately, Goth noticed this and pulled me up, making it unable for me to reach the glass.

''I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you señorita,'' he growled.

I tried to punch him with my elbow but Goth wrapped his muscular arms around me and held me tight to his chest.

''Let me Go!'' I screamed, struggling, but it was no use. Fearing my end about to come, I shut my eyes and hoped it would be fast as Goth suddenly cried out and tossed me off.

I gasped as my butt painfully hit the ground and then looked up to see Shade scratching the cannibals face with his claws and pulling his ears.

Goth roared with fury and tried to snatch him from the sky but the small Silverwing skilfully avoided his grasp and rushed to me to grab my hands with his feet. Together we hurried towards an old pipe, sticking out of the top of a huge pile of junk. Marina already there, waiting for us.

''You two are ok?'' she asked looking at us worriedly and we just nodded, catching our breaths.

Then thunder struck, causing us to gasp and close our eyes before risking a glance out of the pipe. Rain started to pour down from the sky and for a moment we thought to be safe and allowed ourselves to relax. But just when we were about to sit down we heard the sound of claws scratching against metal and a devilish laugh quickly coming closer from the other side of the pipe.

Seconds later Goth and Throbb appeared again and Marina and Shade wasted no time but to grab me and jump out of the pipe. In their hurry the two Vampyrums crashed into each other as they tried to follow us, giving the two smaller bats the chance to fly back into the pipe.

''Don't stop!'' Shade called out to Marina, who was flying up front while I held on to him tight, hearing our pursuers right behind us

We flew out of the bottom side of the pipe and through an old tire when I noticed a storm drain on the ground right below us.

''Guys, down there!'' I called out, pointing down to it with my foot and Shade and Marina quickly dove down.

We barely slipped through when Goth landed on top of the drain with a loud clang. Being too big to squeeze through as well he stretched his arm between the bars and tried to grab us. Cautiously, we took a few steps out of his reach.

''You little ingrates!'' Goth growled with fury, ''When I ...'' Suddenly there was a scream coming from the sky, cutting him off and seconds later we heard another loud clang as Goth's head slammed onto the metal, causing his arm to go limp.

With bated breath we waited for a moment, then Shade carefully hopped closer and tugged a bit on Goth's arm.

''Ah, so sorry, mi amigo,'' Shade playfully said with a fake accent before unceremoniously dropping the arm again.

Marina and I started laughing at his joke and Shade quickly joined in.  
But our fun moment was cut short when suddenly a pair of furry paws clasped our mouths from behind and dragged us away.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the eastern valley, Ursa continued to lead the animals around a mountain pass. It was snowing heavily and looking back the white she-bear could see how the others were struggling to keep up with her. By her side was Koda, the little black bear cub she adopted, and he too looked exhausted from walking through that storm. Ursa knew she had to find shelter for them all, otherwise they would freeze their fur off.

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound coming right above them. Ursa looked up and gasped at what she saw. ''Avalanche!'' she cried out and grabbed Koda by the scruff of his neck before running into a nearby cave, followed by the rest of the animals who were screaming in terror.

Luckily, everyone made it inside before the snow crashed down behind them.

''We... we could have been killed!'' a raccoon stuttered.

Ursa sighed and put Koda back down. ''You'll be safer here,'' she told the animals before turning around and back to the exit.

''Where are you going?'' the raccoon asked.

''To help Vanessa and Shade Silverwing stop this before we have another great battle on our paws.''

Koda tried to follow her but Ursa gently pushed him away. ''Please, keep an eye on Koda. I will come back as soon as I can.'' The animals nodded and Ursa turned back around to walk out into the snow.

* * *

The smell was awful. Everywhere hung the musty smell of waste and decay in the air. I would have gladly covered my nose so I would no longer need to smell it, but unfortunately this was not possible, because a thick, orange-brown rat held my arms tightly together on my back. My two friends were also tied up by two other rats. One dark blue and one mud green. Guarded by four other rats we floated on a wooden raft through the sewer.

"I wouldn't even think about escaping if I were you. "the rat who held me down hissed into my ear. "My folks and I would have captured you quicker than you can say 'mouse'.'' He grinned. "And this could turn out really ugly. We don't want anything to happen to you or your pretty little pink dress. Wouldn't we, Dollface?'' The rat laughed sardonically, and I turned away from him in disgust.

The green rat, holding Marina, looked down at me and my friends, with his eyes scornfully narrowed to slits. ''Spies!'' He spit out in disgust.

''For the last time,'' Shade said with a groan, ''We are no spies.''

''Tell that to the king!'' growled the blue rat.

Moments later, the raft stopped on a wide shore.

''Move!'' ordered a rat, and I felt myself getting roughly pulled to my feet and pushed forward over the muddy ground. They took us into a huge hall whose walls were built of compressed cardboard, bent plastic and other garbage and filled with hundreds of rats all around us. The hissing and scurrying of their swift paws in the darkness was almost creepy.

On the other end of the room was a gigantic mountain of scrap and leftovers of food. On top of it sat a fat, purple colored rat with malicious yellow eyes. On his head was an inverted bottle cap that should probably represent a crown.

As we stepped before his ''throne'', his lordship simply enjoyed gnawing at an apple core and ignored us completely.

The orange-brown rat cleared his throat.

''Your Highness. King Remus, I hereby present to you the three spies.'' he solemnly cried out, stretching his hands out to us, while we got pushed down to our knees.

The king looked at his subject thoughtfully. ''Hm.. It takes a spy to know a spy.'' he took another bite from the apple and spit out a seed before glaring at the rat with the apple core pointing at him.

''Admit it guard. You are a spy!''

''What?'' the guard looked at his king with shock and fear. ''No no no no, y-you got it wrong.''

''I never get it wrong when it comes to spies. Guards!'' he called out and belched loudly. ''Take this guard away and ... guard him!''

The poor rat desperately tried to defend himself but two other rats scurried over and pulled him away without mercy. The king, however, nibbled a bit more on his apple before carelessly throwing it down into a corner. Immediately a dozen hungry rats pounced on it in hope to snatch some leftovers.

''Now then,'' Remus said, leaning forward on his throne to take a better look at us. ''What do we have here? Two bats and a teeny-tiny human. What are you doing in my kingdom?''

'' Well, we... uh...''

''We... eh... we came to warn you your highness,'' Marina lied. ''Giant bats from the jungle down south came to the north, threatening both the kingdoms of the bats and the rats.''

''I see.'' King Remus scratched his chin, not looking very convinced. ''And who may I ask send you here?''

''The ... eh...''

''The great elders from the mountain colonies.'' I said, trying to help and for a moment it seemed he was buying our story. But then he vigorously shook his head and glared down at us, his eyes sparkling with anger. ''You are lying.''

''No honestly we...''

''Who sent you?'' he demanded to know.

'' I already told you. The great elders of...'' But Remus cut me off. ''Guards!'' he shrieked. ''Take them to the drain and drown them. This should teach them a lesson for trespassing my kingdom. And with the human female you begin.''

Frightened Shade, Marina, and I tried to flee, but the rats were too quick and dragged us away.

''Ah! No!''

''Let go of us!''

''Take them away!'' the king ordered once more and no matter how hard we struggled. There was no way for us to escape.


	29. The true King

Oh, how much he despised the cold. It got even worse the past few days and Goth was already sick of it.

After regaining his consciousness and realizing that those puny bats and the human escaped once more, he let his anger out at his cousin. He scratched and bite him until he was crouching behind his wings, whining and begging for him to stop. If Throbb weren't his cousin Goth probably would have killed him. It was his fault Shade and his friends got away. If that stupid fat ass would have looked where he was going instead of falling out of the pipe, knocking him out. He for sure would have got them.

But now there were gone. And the Vampyrum prince had no idea where they could be. Where they still hiding down in the sewers? Or did they get out already and were flying towards Hibernaculum?

Oh, how he longed to be there himself already. A warm place to stay, away from the blasted cold with so much delicious bat meat that would fill his belly for a good amount of time until he would return to his beloved jungle. A soft growl escaped his throat. He would kill them all, every single one of them. And with Shade he would begin. With him and his miserable human friend Vanessa.

The moment Goth laid his eyes on her, he knew that she meant trouble. Humans were just all the same. Nasty creature that the world needs to get rid of for Zotz's sake.

But Goth wasn't just furious about the fact that those three managed to slip away from him again. Oh no. He was also still pissed off, that they humiliated him with a hallucination of a fake Cama Zotz.

To think he, of all bats, got forced down to his knees by such an inferior species! To bow his head before them and weep like a newborn pup! Goth had no idea how they had done it, but they would pay for it he swore to himself and to Zotz.

Once his anger calmed down Goth searched around the junkyard together with Throbb, trying to find a trace of Shade, Marina and Vanessa. But all they found were a few rats.

After a quick meal, he decided they would fly back into the forest, close to the junkyard and look for them there. There on the branch of a snow-covered tree both Vampyrums were shivering heavily with their massive wings tightly wrapped around their bodies.

Goth blew warm air into his hands, causing several puffs of white vapor to escape. He clenched his teeth together and shuddered, glaring darkly into the brightening horizon. He couldn't deny that, no matter how powerful he claimed himself to be, this frost would eventually overtake both him and Throbb and most likely kill them before the end of the winter.

''Goth, did I mention that I'm now slowly freeezing to death while also slowly staaarving to death?!'' Throbb complained while roosting on another branch above Goth, glaring at him. His wounds, caused by his cousin, were no longer bleeding, but a few of them might turn into scars.

The taller bat turned away from Throbb with an irritated sigh. Once again, Goth was so close to eat him, just to shut him up, if not to prolong his own life for a few days.

''Oh, I think you may have mentioned it once. Or was it...'' Goth swiveled in Throbb's face, ''ONCE too often?!'' he snarled, his eyes flashing.

Throbb flinched but didn't back away, from his cousin. He frowned. At this point, he was more scared of starving than Goth's fury. ''Are we almost at Hibernaculum?'' he asked.

''Enough!'' Goth snapped, turning away from him, clenching his fist. ''Shade has mocked me and Cama Zotz and for that, his friends and his colony will pay.''

Throbb crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow ''Oh yes. That Shade most certainly is a…'' he cleared his throat and smirked deviously at Goth, ''naughty bat.''

Goth spun around. His fur bristled, and a pissed off growl grew out of his throat. Without warning, he grabbed Throbb by the neck and squeezed, causing his companion to yelp and gag.

''What did you just say?'' he hissed, pulling the smaller bat closer, intending to kill him right here and now.

Throbb tried to pull Goth off him when to his luck, he spotted a parliament of owls flying over their heads. He made a strangled noise and pointed upwards. Goth stared up at the owls, not making any sudden movements. When the birds flew past, he calmly released his grip on Throbb and thought for a moment before lifting off from the branch to fly into the woods. Throbb gasped as he got free and gingerly rubbed his neck, trying to rub away the scratches that burned into his skin, then followed his cousin.

* * *

Despite our constant cries of protest and attempts to escape, the guards dragged us out of the throne room and down to the dirty, stinking drain.

''Alright, let's get this over with,'' the headguard, a dark blue rat with darker patches said, sounding quiet bored and waved the rat, that was holding me over to him.

''No!'' Marina cried out.

Shade tried to grab me but the guard holding him simply pulled him away so he couldn't reach me.

I did my best in trying to escape my fate myself, but it was no use. The headguard himself came over and grasped my left arm, while the other guard was still grabbing my right and together they pulled me towards the water.

''Let go!'' I screamed, feeling fear rising inside me and also pain because the headguards claws were digging into my wound. Suddenly the mushy ground under my feet got more wet, and both rats hustled me into the water. Coughing, I burst through the surface but was immediately pushed back underwater. Strong arms held me firm to the ground as I struggled to get free, holding my breath. I was sure Shade and Marina were trying to help in some way, but the rats were too strong for all of us. If no miracle happened soon, I would be history. I did my best in holding back the urge to breathe, but I was never good in doing this for long. I could already feel my air was running out.

After what felt like hours, I couldn't stand it any longer and opened my mouth for a deep breath, filling my lungs with water. I instinctively coughed or at least tried so and struggled to get free, but the rats were still holding me down. I desperately needed air now and noticed my vision going dark before my eyes. 

Then all of the sudden, the weight on my head and back disappeared, and I was pulled out of the water. Under heavy coughing fits I spat dirty water and did not know at first what was going on.

But eventually I calmed down enough and turned around to see that all rat guards seemed paralyzed with fear.

''Do not kill the captives!'' came the sudden shrieking voice of something hidden in the shadows and the rats started shivering.

''B-b-b-but king R-r-r-remus s-s-said...''

''I'm sure the king wouldn't have anything against it if you hand them over to me Croll,'' the voice interrupted the headguard. For me it sounded just like the voice of a rat, so I got confused about the reaction of the other rats. What were they so afraid of?

Croll hummed and hawed. ''Uh, w-well ... I...'' Again the voice cut him off.

''Or do you want me to come over and get them from you?''

Croll, widened his eyes and heavily shook his head. ''N-no no. That..that isn't necessary. R-really.'' He frantically looked around, seeking help by his comrades but they all stayed silent and looked like they wanted to run off right now.

''Uh, you know what,'' Croll continued, ''You can have them. W-we will just go and leave you alone with them.'' He smiled nervously into the shadows where I believed to see eyes flashing in the darkness.

Then after a moment of silence the voice spoke again, ''Alright, go and leave the two bats and the human with me.''

''Y-yes. Thank you.'' Croll immediately ordered the other guards to release me and my friends and then they all run away without looking back once.

_''What in the world...?'' _Confused I stared after the guards, still sitting in the water. Shade and Marina looking after them as well.

''Uh, might somebody explain what just happened?'' Shade asked while Marina went over to me to help me back onto the short. I was soaking wet and still spitting out water but at least I was alive.

''Are you alright?'' Marina asked me, looking worried.

''I'm ok,'' I replied. Though I felt tired from the ordeal I had to go through. Plus, my left wrist was hurting me.

Shade flutter over to us. ''Come on, guys let's ditch this place before they come back.''

''Oh, don't worry. They won't return anytime soon.''

With a gasped Shade spun around and all three of us stared into a dark corner from where the voice was coming from.

''There is no need to be afraid.,'' the voice reassured us. But Shade remained wary and stood in front of Marina and me for protection.

''Who are you?'' He demanded to know and bared his teeth.

''My name is Romulus,'' the voice said, ''And please, I'm not here to harm you.''

My friends and I looked at each other unsure.

''Why were the rats scared of you?'' I asked and was given a deep sigh as a reply.''

''They think I'm a monster that haunts the underground. At least that's what my brother keeps telling them all.''

''Your brother?''

''King Remus.''

We were shocked. ''What?'' Marina asked. ''The king is your brother?''

''I'm afraid it's true.''

''But why does he keep telling anyone that you are a monster?'' Looking at my two bat friends I knew they were both confused about this as well.

''He...has his reasons.''

''What reasons?''

''Are you saying that this is true?'' Shade kept staying in front of Marina and me and opened his wings wide to make himself look bigger and more dangerous. ''Are you a monster? If so, then back off!''

''Shade, wait. Maybe...''

''Please, I truly mean you no harm,'' Romulus tried to assure us once more.

''How about you show yourself to us so we can talk more properly,'' I said, wanting to know who were talking to the whole time. Romulus hesitated for a moment, but eventually he stepped out of the shadows. To our surprise we saw ... a rat. A basic looking rat with resemblance to King Remus but with violet-colored fur and a larger body size.

He sighed. ''Now, you see me. But please, believe me. I'm just here to help you.

I was baffled. No idea what I expected to see coming out of the shadows but definitely not an ordinary rat. What was with this talk about him being a monster? Was this just some kind of joke or something?

''Well, now I don't understand anything.'' Shade stepped forwards towards Romulus and furrowed his brows. ''You are just a rat. Like that king and all the other rats down here.''

Romulus shook his. ''I'm nothing like the other rats.''

''How come?'' asked Marina. Again Romulus shook his head.

''Not here,'' he said. ''If we keep staying here. Chances are high that my brother might send another batch of guards down here to see if you guys are still here.''

''But the headguard and his men looked so frightened. Do you really think they or their colleagues would return here?''

''If they don't want to face my brother's wrath then yes. Now come. I'll lead you to my place. It's the safest place for you to be at least for a while.''

He turned around to move, but we hesitated. Could we really trust him?

''You should really come with me. Especially since your human friend doesn't look so good.''

Just now I realized how sick I felt. I was still soaking wet, and the water was running down my face at the tips of my hair. I shivered and knew I needed to get out of my clothes otherwise I might get a cold. On the other hand, my body already felt like it was burning from the inside. I had tried to ignore it before but it seems I really did got a fever. And on top of all my wrist hurt so bad it was almost unbearable.

Taking a short look at my left arm I gulped. Blotches of dried blood was sticking on my skin and the area around the wound was red. The wound itself was warm when I touched it and also felt swollen. The crusty yellowish film on top could only mean one thing. The wound got infected.

_''Just great.''_ I bit down on my underlip. That was just what I needed. An infected wound and no medical kit around to treat it. If I was even more lucky, I would get blood poisoning from it. How wonderful.

Marina drew sharply the air between her teeth and looked worriedly at my arm. ''Romulus,'' she said ''Do you have any herbs we can treat her wound with. It really doesn't look good.''

''How bad is it?'' Shade walked over to look at my arm as well. The look on his face told me that it wasn't a pretty picture to see and I could relate.

''I might have something to help her with,'' Romulus said looking at us, ''But for that you need to come with me, quick.''

Even though we were still not sure what to think of him, we decided we had no choice but to follow him through the underground.

Luckily, his den wasn't too far away from the place Romulus had found us. With my wrist hurting so much there was no way for me to cling onto Shade or Marina's feet without being in even more pain. I may could have clung to them with only one hand but Romulus insisted for me to climb onto his back, so he could carry me to his place with Shade and Marina following us, flying right behind. His den was a small hole in the upper region digged into the mud and hidden behind a heavy rock.

After making sure no one was around, we quickly sneaked inside. Everything was pitch-dark but since it's been days since I've been out in the daylight my eyes got used to it pretty quick. Looking around, I saw nothing but mud and scraps of cloth lying around.

Feeling tired I stumbled over to one pile and fell down on it face first. All I wanted to do know was sleep. Sleep until my head stopped spinning and wrist stopped hurting.

''Vanessa!'' I hear the concern voice of Marina, but I didn't react to it. I felt sick and just wanted to rest.

''She needs to get out of those wet leaves otherwise she will get even more sick.''

Maybe it was my current condition, or the fact that I was so dearly aware of it. But I could hardly perceive anything around me anymore. My focus was solely on myself and the tiredness that tried to take possession of me more and more. Only halfway I realized that someone took my coat off and helped me out of my dirty, wet dress. Afterwards I was rubbed dry with a piece of cloth and wrapped in another one. Then I was finally allowed to lie down and get some rest. The last thing I noticed was that someone was putting another cloth over me as a blanket, then darkness...

* * *

''I must say, very clever what you did in the throne room. I thought you'd get away with it.''

''You were there?'' asked Shade.

Romulus nodded. ''I was watching you, hidden behind bars in the wall,'' he explained. ''I'm truly surprised he figured it out.''

Marina let out a sigh. ''Unfortunately,'' she said and threw a short worried glance to Vanessa, who was sleeping peacefully in a pile of rags. Her left wrist bandaged after the rat cleaned the wound and put on some healing paste. ''We own you one Romulus. If it weren't for you she, Shade and I wouldn't be alive anymore.''

He waved off. ''Don't mentioned it. I just did what was right. That's all.''

Hearing a huff, Marina looked up to see Shade pacing around the small room with his wings crossed before his chest.

''Suspecting his own guard to be a spy out of random. Sending us to death without reason...'' he stopped and shook his head. ''What kind of king is this guy?''

Marina let out a sigh. ''Maybe if we told him the truth instead of...'' But Romulus interrupted her, shaking his own head.

''He would have never believed you. No matter if you tell the truth or not, ''he said.'' His kingdom lies in ruins. He has hardly any idea what is going on in the world, because his messengers are unreliable and his guards are constantly deserting to join better kingdoms. The only person he trusts is himself, no one else.''

''I hate to say this,'' Shade said, ''But that guy is nuts. I'm sorry Romulus. I know he is your brother but what crazy minded fool put him on the throne?''

''Well,'' Romulus seemed to struggle with himself, as if he wanted to tell them something but didn't know how. ''Technically, since I was born first. Remus isn't really the king. I am.'' Both bats gasped and started at him in shock and confusion.

''What? But if you are the rightful king how come he sits on the throne instead of you?''

''Yeah,'' Shade agreed, wondering the same. ''And what's with those rumors he spreads about you?''

''Like I said, he has his reasons. Look!'' With a sigh Romulus spread out his arms and to Shade and Marinas surprise they saw long folds of skin stretched between his arms and legs. Making them look like...Wings.

''Wow,'' Shade gasped with awe, ''I wish my wings were that big,'' he confessed.

''That's amazing,'' Marina added.

''Huh?'' Romulus blinked. Apparently not having expected such a reaction coming from them.

''Uh, anyway. Remus tells everyone that I'm a freak and unfit to rule. That's why he is in charge instead of me.

''But that's nonsense. What does looking different got to do with being a good king?'' Shade asked. ''We are all different in someway. Look at me! I'm a runt.

''And I've got a band.'' Marina added, lifting her wrist.

''And Vanessa here got herself shrunken to mouse-size. If that's not freaky, then I don't know what is.'' Romulus looked to the side, thinking about what they just told him. ''And besides,'' Shade continued, ''If you really were a monster you wouldn't have helped us.''

As if this had been the motivation boost Romulus needed, he nodded and looked at them, eyes gleaming with joy and a big smile on his face. ''Thank you. Both of you. I'll never forget this.''

Both bats smiled back. ''You are welcome.''


	30. Reunion and Separation

Early the next evening, the Silverwings went back to their route after spending the day before in an old beech tree.

''It's good to have you back where you belong,'' Ariel told Frieda. the joy that the old female had won back the reputation of the entire colony was still written on her face.

''And Bathsheba is back where she belongs,'' Mercury added with a smirk and glanced over his shoulder to see Bathsheba flying at the very rear end of the colony, glaring at them.

''Don't be too hard on her,'' Frieda said. ''Bathsheba believes that everything she's done was for the good of the colony.''

Mercury wanted to say something as the rumbling of water reached his ears. A smile spread across face. ''The river!'' he cried out with a joy which was replayed by the mothers and pups who, with hopeful expectations, beat their wings faster to reach the destination of their journey.

For a while they kept following the current of the river until the end came into view, pouring down into a giant waterfall.

The noisy excitement among the bats drew the attention from beyond the waterfall and another colony of Silverwings appeared, flying straight towards them.  
''The males!'' Mercury announced gleefully, realizing who they were and was more than relieved to see them being alright.  
Meeting in the middle, the two colonies merged into one, spiraling around each other like a DNA strand. The full moon seeming to glow brighter, illuminating them in its light while the bats squeaked happily, rejoined with their families after many months.

Chinook was also filled with joy when he spotted a male bat who looked exactly as his mother had always described him. ''Father!'' he cried out with a smile and raced towards the familiar face.

The male Silverwing who looked like an older and darker version of Chinook noticed the young one and flew down to meet him. ''Chinook! Thank Nocturna you are all safe!'' He looked up to the female leader floating beside him. ''Frieda, the skies closed to bats? Tell me you have an explanation for all this insanity?''

''Your guess is as good as mine, Hector,'' Frieda replied.

Hector frowned. ''Then let's get inside. Orion needs to hear about what happened.''

Frieda nodded. Since they reached the river, she was dying to call for a council meeting with Orion and the other male elders. Not wasting any time, she flew down to enter their winter roost, followed by the rest of the colony.

Only Chinook stood behind for a moment, looking confused. _''Hector? But I thought my father’s name is Plato?''_

* * *

''Ugh,'' was the first I managed to say after waking up from my slumber. My body felt heavy, and my throat was dry. Sitting up, I clasped my head and struggled to recall what had happened. It took me a moment, but eventually it all came back to me. The chase in the junkyard, us being captured by the rats, King Remus sentencing us to death with me nearly drowning in the drain and finally his brother Romulus coming to save us and then...

Thoughtfully, I looked around and spotted a fresh bandage on my wrist. ''Oh, right,'' I said, now also remembering my wound getting worse and myself feeling like shit before passing out on a pile of rags. To be honest, I was still feeling unwell, but at least better than before.

Looking more around, I wondered how long I was asleep and where my friends and Romulus were. The small chamber was pretty much empty besides me being there and still very dark, but I could still see clearly. Thinking of it it was kinda strange. I knew my eyesight in the dark got better since I met the Silverwings, but actually I shouldn't be able to see much in a place as dark as this one. If there was some kind of window like a hole in the wall where light could shine through from outside, then it would be understandable. But that wasn't the case here.

First, I'm able to see echo-projections and now I could see in sheer darkness as well without problems?! Somehow I started to believe that something was wrong with me and that that blue pearl must have something to do with it. Maybe shrinking me wasn't the only thing it did to me on that night.

Anyway, right now I found more important to find my friends and back on our route to Hibernaculum. We couldn't waste anymore time. We needed to get there fast and warn them.

I rubbed my eyes to get the rest of the sleepiness out of them and threw my blanket off me just to quickly pull it over me again, realizing I wasn't wearing anything. Feeling embarrassed, I searched for my clothes and found them in a corner, drying on a rope. By the look of it, they still seemed to be wet so I couldn't wear them. Not that I wanted to wear that pink dress any longer at all. But since I had nothing else, it was the only option for me if I didn't want to run around stark naked. Then again... Maybe I could make myself some new clothes from the rags.

With that in mind, I rummaged around the pile I sat on until I found something useful. A piece of dark brown fabric I wrapped around my body and a small black piece I use as a belt to keep my new dress in place. Then I picked up another brown fabric and with the help of a sharp piece of glass, I found in a corner I managed to cut a hole in it for my head and threw it over. Now my arms were still bare, but at least my shoulders were covered.

Just as I finished getting dressed, I heard noises coming from a corner and turned around to see Romulus crawling out of a hidden tunnel in the wall, followed by Marina and Shade.

''Ugh, I'm never getting used to that,'' the small Silverwing complained, ''Isn't there an easier way to get to the surface?''

''I'm sorry Shade, but this tunnel is the only way if you don't want to be captured by my brother's soldiers again. But look, it seems your human friend has finally woken up.''

Now noticing me standing before them, Shade smiled happily and rushed over to me with Marina.

''Vanessa, you are awake. Oh, man, I am so glad. How are you feeling?''

''I'm fine,'' I said.

''You sure?'' Marina asked, looking at with concern.

I nodded. ''Yeah, uh ... for how long was I asleep?''

''The whole day,'' said Shade, ''the sun just went down an hour ago.''

''I see.''

Romulus cleared his throat, and I turned my attention to him. ''May I get a look at your arm? I want to be sure the healing paste I put on is doing its work.''

''Uh, sure,'' I held out my arm for him to check on my wound while Shade and Marina informed me about what I had missed since I passed out. Like them I was surprised to hear Romulus being the true king of the rats. And I was also astonished about the wing-like membranes on his body. But like my friends, I assured Romulus that I wasn't grossed out about it or thought he was a monster because of this, which spread a smile on the rat's face.

Eventually, he finished inspecting my wound and wrapped the bandage back around it.

''Well, it seems to heal quite well. You are lucky that the infection isn't too severe,'' he said, ''In a few days your arm should be as good as new, though you will probably keep a scar.''

''I see. Well, thank you for your help, Romulus.''

''Don't mention it. I'm happy to help,'' he replied with a smile.

''How come you even know about medicine and stuff? Were you taught by someone?'' Shade asked curiously.

''I have a friend, a grey squirrel called Mirage who knows a lot about potions and herbs.''

''Oh, that's good.''

''Maybe we will meet her on our way. Would be good in case my wound gets bad again.'' I chuckled a bit but when I saw the look on my friends face I stopped. ''Guys what's wrong?''

''Well, Vanessa...''

''We thought it might be better for you if you stay here with Romulus,'' finished Marina.

I stared at them both dumbfounded. ''What?''

''You heard him,'' she tried to explain. ''Your wrist still needs a few days until it's completely healed. If you come with us now, the wound might really get bad again and we can't be sure to meet a healer like this Mirage before reaching Hibernaculum.''

''But we are almost there, aren't we?''

Shade let out a sigh. ''All I know is that we have to find that river. It could mean that this is the last landmark before Hibernaculum, but we can't be sure of this,'' he said. ''Besides. It's freezing cold outside and you need to be in a warm place to get well again.''

''But...'' I tried to protest, but Marina shook her head. ''No, Vanessa. You are not coming with us. I'm sorry, but we talked this through. We don't want to risk your health.''

''So you want to leave me behind.''

''No. I mean we would take you with us, but we don't know how far away Hibernaculum is. But as soon as we are there we will come back and get you.''

I wasn't satisfied. After all, we've been through, they now decided to continue on without me?! I crossed my arms before my chest and showed them I wasn't happy about this at all. ''You can't be serious.''

''But they are right,'' Romulus interfered, ''I know it sounds harsh but you need to stay so I can take care of your injury and your friends need to get to the Silverwings as soon as possible to warn them for the owls and those giant rats.''

''But...'' I sighed. ''Alright.''

''Like I said, we will come and get you as soon as possible. I promise.'' Shade looked at me with a smile and I couldn't help but smiled back even though I was still unhappy about this.

''Now then, I believe you two should get going. So far there are no owls outside but that might change soon.'' Both bats nodded then walked over to give me a hug, saying goodbye plus once again promising to return as soon as they could. Afterwards they said their goodbyes to Romulus and crawled up through the tunnel in the wall.

* * *

Meanwhile, the whole Silverwing colony has gathered in the center of their winter roost.

Fathers and pups were getting to know each other while the females informed their mates about what happened during their journey, only to hear their story afterwards.

On a platform at the edge of the cave, which marked the entrance to the councillors' chamber, stood Frieda, Lucretia, Bathsheba and Aurora. There they conferred with the four male elders.

Orion, the leader, listened to Frieda's story with a grim expression. Like all elders, he was an aged bat with more gray than blue fur and a wrinkled face. Even his dark blue, almost black hair had turned silver, just like his mane. Only his wings still retained their original dark black-blue coloring.

Not too far away stood Hector and listened closely to their conversation. Chinook was still confused about the fact that his name wasn't Plato. Had his mother been lying to him or did his father had two names? Well, technically he did because every bat had as a middle name the name of their mother or father depending on their own gender. But still, this was weird.

He wished he could ask his mother about this, but he had lost sight of her as soon as they entered Hibernaculum. He considered asking Todd or Breeze if they had seen her, but they were both busy chatting with their own parents and he didn't want to disturb them.

Looking back at his father Chinook felt tempt to fly over and get to know him like he always wanted too, but he hesitated. But eventually he made up his mind and fluttered over to greet him.

''Uh, hi dad.''

Hector turned to him and gave him a confused look, which made the young Silverwing even more insecure.

''I uhm... I'm glad to finally meet you. Mom has told me a lot about you though he had always called you Plato, not Hector like Frieda did which...'' he stopped noticing the amused look on the older males face. Before Chinook could ask what was wrong, his dad started laughing.

''What's so funny?'' a masculine voice asked and Chinook thought his eyes were playing a trick on him as a bat looking exactly like his dad flew over to them accompanied by his mother Isis.

Hector stopped laughing and rubbed a tear out of his eye. ''Oh man, this was good. Too bad we didn't bet on it Plato. Although I thought Isis told him all about you.''

''I did Hector, but it seems he hasn't listened carefully.''

Chinook returned his mother's gaze with a confused blink. What in Nocturna's name were they talking about?

''Listen kid,'' Hector said with another grin, ''I am not your dad. That's Plato here.''

''Wait what?''

Isis let out a soft sigh. ''Did you honestly forgot about your father having an identical twin brother? I believe I told you about him plenty of times.''

_''Twin brother?'' _Now that she said it, it was the only logical solution. Oh boy, did he feel stupid. That's what you get for not listening closely or just hearing what you want to hear. If only he had paid more attention to his mother's stories about his other male relatives instead of his father alone.

''It's alright boy,'' his uncle said, putting a hand on his shoulder, ''It was a mistake everyone could have made who doesn't know me or your dad. Hey, even your mother mistook me for your dad once.''

Isis turned red. ''That's not true.''

''Oh really? And what about the night of your first date? I think I remember clearly how...''

Plato cleared his throat, interrupting him, ''Ehm, brother. Maybe we can talk about this one other time ok,'' He gave his brother a slight glare while also turning a bit red around his nose.'' His twin chuckled. ''Whatever you say, brother.''

Mercury observed with amusement Chinooks family reunion before lifting off from his roost to look for a certain bat he longed to see for months.

It didn't take him long to find who he was looking for, and a lovely smile spread on his face.

''Icarus!'' he called out. The addressed male spun around and the same smile mirrored on his face.

''Mercury!''

Both males flew towards the other and hugged the other with their wings. Despite their surroundings, they snuggled up together and nuzzled each other. Happy to be reunited after being separated the whole summer.

''I missed you,'' whispered Icarus.

''I missed you too.''

The other male broke free from the embrace and looked at his beloved with concern. ''Say what happened on your journey? Is it true that the owls burned down Tree-Heaven? What's with the closed sky?''

Mercury placed an arm on his shoulder to calm him down. ''Slow down, I will tell you everything. And yes, Tree-Heaven is no longer. General Brutus himself ordered its destruction.''

Icarus eyes went huge. ''But why?'' Mercury let out a sigh and told his mate everything that had happened the past few weeks. He could tell by the look on his face how surprised he was to hear about the shrunken human girl Vanessa. However, he seemed more shocked about the fact that she and Shade dared to break the most ancient law. ''They looked the sun?''

Mercury nodded. ''Yes, but neither of them meant any harm. It was just a childish bet between Shade and Chinook that escalated a bit.''

''A bit?'' Icarus raised his eyebrow. ''The nursery is gone!''

''Yes, but at least we didn't lose any of us ... except for...'' Mercury trailed off and looked to the ground. Once again he worried about Vanessa's well-being. Was she ok? Was she with Shade or did they got separated? Was she even still alive? Oh, how he prayed to Nocturna that this wasn't the case.

''Mercury, what's wrong?''

''W-we lost them...'' he said, still looking down, ''We just passed the lighthouse on our way to the city when we got caught up in a heavy storm. During the turbulences Vanessa and Shade got blown off course. ... We have seen none of them since.'' Towards the end his voice changed to a whisper and he couldn't help but to let out another deep sigh. Noticing this, Icarus stepped closer and wrapped his wings around him. ''I fear I might never see her again.''

''Don't worry,'' Icarus tried to console him, ''I'm sure she is alright. Humans are though.''

''But she so much smaller than other humans. There is no way she can survive out in the open all by herself,'' said Mercury.

''Yeah, but Shade is probably with her.''

''Maybe, but he is also young, not much bigger himself.''

''Still, you shouldn't give up hope.'' Icarus smiled at his mate encouragingly, then thought about something. ''This Shade. He is Cassiel's kid, isn't he?!'' Mercury nodded. ''I see,'' Icarus continued and chuckled a bit, ''In this case I shouldn't be surprised that the boy wanted to see the sun. His father wanted to do just the same.''

''Yeah, but he never did.'' Mercury paused for a moment, ''Speaking of Cassiel. Icarus, you were one of his closest friends. Don't you know what...'' But the other male shook his head, interrupting him.

''I'm sorry, but you know I can't tell you.''

''But...''

''Please, I promised him not to tell anyone.''

Mercury looked into Icarus pleading eyes and nodded, not wanting to ask any further instead he snuggled up to him and continued to inform his mate about the rest that had happened on their journey.

* * *

After leaving the junkyard behind them, Shade and Marina didn't spoke much during their flight through the forest. They both still felt bad about leaving their human friend behind.

''Marina, do you think we did the right thing? I mean Romulus said her wound looked better.''

''An infection does not heal over day,'' she replied. ''Besides, we talked about this. It's better for her to stay in a place where she is safe with someone who can take care of her injury.''

Shade wasn't pleased. ''I'm still thinking we should have taken her with us.''

''She was burning up when she went to sleep. And she still looked sick before we left,'' said Marina.

''You sure?'' he asked sceptically, ''I don't think Vanessa looked sick at all.''

''Because she is hiding it. Also... I've talked with Romulus about this. He said that without treatment she most likely get blood poisoning from it.''

''What's that?'' he asked.

''I'm not sure, but Romulus said that it was serious and can cause death if left untreated.''

Shade's eyes widened. ''She doesn't have this, does she?''

Marina shook her head. ''But she could get it if she came with us through this weather.''

The young Silverwing looked around and watched the soft snow on the branches of the trees they passed by while the cold wind blew through his ears. If only they knew how close they were to Hibernaculum.

As if reading his mind. Marina suggested that he should check his soundmap to see if they were still on course. Therefore, they both swooped down on a bare tree and Shade closed his eyes to call up his mother's map. Various landmarks flashed before his inner eyes. Tree-Heaven, the cathedral, the wolfears, the river they yet needed to find and then... nothing.'' Confused, he opened his eyes.

''The river ... it just disappeared. I don't get it.''

''How about we just follow it to the end and play it by ear when we get there?'' Marina proposed helpfully. Having no other idea what else they could do, Shade agreed and together they continued to look for that river that would hopefully lead them to Hibernaculum.

Little did they know they were being watched.

* * *

Gratefully I ate the berries Romulus brought me from his surface exploration. However, I did not have much of an appetite. I still couldn't believe Shade and Marina decided to continue to go on without me. On the other hand I wondered if they were right and looked at my bandaged wrist. Maybe it was better for me to stay here and wait for their return. After all, they would return, wouldn't they? The thought I might never see them again scared me so I quickly banished it into the back of my mind. No, they are my friends, they would return. ... But what if something happened to them? Gulping down the rest of the last blueberry I couldn't help but thought about the fact that they may encounter the owls or worse Goth and Throbb.

I knew even if I was with them I couldn't do much against our enemies, but three were at least better than two. Also, I was sure I could be helpful in someway. But now my friends were gone and probably too far ahead for me to catch up with them. Meaning if I don't want to freeze out there to death by wandering through the woods on my own I had no choice but to stay here with Romulus in the underground.

I didn't mind the rat. He was nice to me, and I really enjoyed his company. Though I could tell that he was happy to have some company as well. But deep down I felt unhappy.  
The minutes I spend in Romulus chamber another thought crossed my mind. Didn't Zephyr predict that we'd meet unexpected allies? Maybe he meant Romulus. Or maybe Orestes, I continued to think further. After all, none of us would have thought to befriend an owl. Least of all Brutus own son. Speaking of Orestes. Had he found Ursa by now? I sure hoped so.

Disgruntled, I sighed once more and rested my chin on my hands. If there was just something I could do instead of sitting around and wait. But what? It was no use. No matter how hard I racked my brain. In the end I had to admit to myself that there was nothing I could do, except for staying where I was and wait.

Which was definitely not going to happen!

I knew it was stupid and irresponsible, but there was no way I would stay here. I started this journey with my friends, and I end it with them. Infectious wound or not.

Quickly, I glance through the chamber to make sure Romulus hadn't returned yet. Fortunately, he had used the main entrance to check the underground. So I would not accidentally run into him on my way to the surface.

I got up and hurried to put on my shoes, which were dirty and brown from the mud. Then I checked my white cloak and noted with satisfaction that it was almost completely dry. Only the fluffy edges on the cape and the hood were still a bit damp. Wasting no time, I pulled it from the rope and put it on.

Shortly before the tunnel entrance, I hesitated. It was not very nice of me to leave without saying goodbye to Romulus. But he would most likely not let me go, so I had no other choice than to leave quickly and secretly. But then something else occurred to me.

Almost automatically my hand grasped the pearl necklace which I still wore around my neck.

It didn't mean much to me, but it was still a nice accessory and I didn't have a better farewell present. So without thinking any further about it, I took the necklace off and put it neatly on one of the fabric piles. Then I turned back to the tunnel entrance, and with a silent farewell to the true king of the rats, I started my ascent to the surface. Thereby I swore to myself that, should I ever see him again, I would apologize for my disappearance.

* * *

It took him the complete day, but eventually Orestes reached a mountain range in the eastern valley. From his excursions with his father he knew that there had to be a cave somewhere nearby. He hoped to find Ursa in there, or at least a hint of her current whereabout.

Breathless, he finally caught an entrance between the snow-covered rocks and landed in front of it. Orestes didn't dare to fly straight inside, not knowing what was waiting for him. Instead, he carefully peaked inside. ''Hello?'' he whispered into the dark. ''Is anybody there... Ah!'' Without warning, something furry attacked him. Teeth and claws dig into his feathers and pushed him to the ground. The young owl tried to defend himself, but he was outnumbered.

''Guys, what are you doing? Get off him!''

Almost instantly, the crushing weight of his attackers took off and Orestes sat up to catch his breath and inspect his body. Except for a few lost feathers, he seemed to be fine and not seriously injured. Thank goodness.

"Say, what's the matter with you all? Don't you have eyes in your heads? That's Orestes. General Brutus' son.''

Orestes looked up and saw a bunch of forest critters huddled together in the cave. One of them a female white rabbit was snarling at a raccoon and a fox.

''It's bad enough his dad banished us. We don't need more trouble hurting his son.''

The two animals hung their heads in shame.

''We are sorry,'' they said. ''We thought it was someone dangerous.''

''What is he even doing here?'' a deer spoke up.

Everybody stared at him, causing Orestes to feel nervous. ''I...uh... I'm looking for Ursa.''

''What business do you have with her? Did Brutus send you?'' the racoon asked him distrustfully.

''No, my father has nothing to do with this. I need to find Ursa because Vanessa and Shade need her help.'' The other animals looked at him with surprise.

''You know Vanessa and Shade?'' the deer asked.

Orestes nodded. ''They are good friends of mine together with Marina Brightwing.''

The raccoon didn't seem to believe him. ''Why would you be friends with them? You are Brutus' son and he is the one who is after them.''

''So?'' Orestes frowned at the mammal. ''He might be my father, but I'm nothing like him. Unlike him, I want this stupid war to end before everything gets worse than it already is.'' He looked at them all. ''Please, just tell me where Ursa is and I'll be on my way again. I won't tell anyone that you guys are here. I promise.''

''Ursa left yesterday before sunrise, we haven't seen her again since,'' the she-rabbit told him.

''Oh,'' Orestes heart sank. ''Do you know where she was going?''

The rabbit thought for a moment. ''Not exactly. But she said she wanted to help stop this war as well. Though we have no idea which way she went.''

''I see,'' he said, ''Well, thank you for telling me anyway.'' The female white black bear must be looking for Shade, for that he was sure. If only he had been faster, he may wouldn't have missed her. How should he find her now?

The river! 

Of course. Orestes eyes lit up. If Ursa was looking for Shade and Vanessa, then maybe he should just fly back to them as well.

Without further ado, the young owl said his goodbyes to the critters and flew back out into the night. Hoping to find his friends or Ursa.


	31. Captured again

Carefully I crawled up through the narrow passage, piece by piece. With every step my hands and feet sank deep into the sticky mud. Once I struggled so much to get out, I almost lost my shoe.

Nevertheless, I continued to creep further without knowing where the tunnel even led to. All I knew was that it led outside. Once or twice I thought I heard voices and footsteps nearby. Each time I froze and waited breathlessly for the noises to go away before I dared to continue. I was afraid that at any second a rat's snout would come through the earth wall and catch me.

Finally, the surrounding darkness lightened up, and a breath of fresh air rose in my nose. But another, far more unpleasant smell quickly overshadowed it.

''Yuck!''

The further I walked, the worse the smell got until I ended up in a mountain of rotten garbage.

''Ugh! Disgusting!''

I wanted to get out of here as quick as possible. Feeling like I was about to throw up the longer I stayed in that trash. I discovered a passage that Romulus had dug through the garbage and crawled through it. Above me, the night sky opened up, and I hurried to leave all the dirt behind me.

After a while I was finally outside and made a run into the protective darkness of the woods. At an old fir tree, I paused in exhaustion and sat down for a moment on one root.

Now I needed to think. To catch up with my friends was impossible, I knew that. Also, couldn't I just stay here and hope that someone would find me and come to my aid.

With a sigh, I wondered where Orestes might be now. However, the probability that the young owl would find me here soon was equal to zero. He was looking for Ursa, who could be who knows where. I would rather freeze out here before he found me. Or anyone else.

I swallowed.

By my escape to the outside, I had completely forgotten that other dangers were awaiting me out here. Dangers that I was completely exposed to all by myself. With eyes wide open, I looked around me alert. Ready to sprint should anything in the cover jump at me. For the moment, however, I seemed to be safe. Yet I remained cautious. Who knew where Goth and Throbb were or Brutus and his owls? Should they catch me, it was over. I knew that.

''Maybe I should have stayed with Romulus,'' I mumbled to myself but didn't dare to turn back.

Since there was no sign of danger at the moment, I risked continuing my path. I had to reach this river Shade saw in his sound map and hoped that it would take me to him and Marina or preferably directly to Hibernaculum. Though this was easier said than done.

In my original size, I had already struggled to orientate myself alone in the forest. In my current size, it was a thousand times worse. How was I supposed to find the river? If only I could fly.

The snow-covered ground beneath my feet glittered in moonlight and it was still bitterly cold, but not as cold as in the mountains. We must have traveled far south on our journey. How long before we finally reach our goal?

Further and further I walked until I stepped out into a small clearing. There I stopped for a moment and took a short break. I had no idea how far I had come, probably not too far. Yet I did not give up. I had to find this river at all costs. No matter what.

A rustle caused me to flinch. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement in the fern and crept carefully past it without letting the bush out of my sight. My heart was pounding violently in my chest as I slowly walked on. But as nothing happened, I inspected it closer and immediately stopped. My neck hairs stood up. Something was right behind me. I could feel it. Slowly, I turned around and... froze.

Right in front of me stood Goth. Arms crossed before his muscular chest and a devious grin on his face.

''Hola señorita, so we meet again.''

''No, no ...''

''What? Not happy to see me?'' he shrugged. ''Well, too bad. However, I'm sure your amigos will be overjoyed to see again.''

My eyes widened. ''What have you done to Shade and Marina?'' I demanded to know. Goth chuckled.

''Oh, don't worry. They are fine. For now. But I found it quite odd that the trio wasn't complete. So I went off to find the missing piece. And there you are.''

I totally should have stayed with Romulus. How could I have been so stupid? Of course I had to run into the worst person I could run into.

''Now then, let's not waste more time dawdle around.''

Before I knew what was going on, Goth leaped off into the air and digged his claws painfully into my shoulders to take me with him. I tried to struggle and protest, but it was no use. The Vampyrum had me firmly in its grip.

* * *

The next thing I knew, I got roughly thrown into a flat cave. With a moan, I picked myself back up and rubbed my sore shoulders.

''Vanessa!''

Hearing my name, I turned around and smiled in relief, seeing Shade and Marina. They both looked scared, but seemed unharmed. I quickly ran over to them and hugged them both.

''What are you doing here, Vanessa? I thought we agreed that you' d stay with Romulus.''

I didn't miss the reproachful undertone in Marina's voice, but for the moment I cared less about it. I was just happy to see them both again.

''Never mind that now. How did they find you?''

''They just appeared out of nowhere and dragged us here,'' Shade told me.

''You know,'' Goth interfered, ''As much as I enjoy following your little conversation, there are more important things to do.'' He turned to Shade, looking him straight in the eyes. ''Finding your colony, for example.''

Shade gulped.

''Tell me the rest of your sound map.''

Shade tried to retreat, but the cold stone of the cave wall was already pressing itself into his back. ''I... I have forgotten the rest,'' he said. Goth didn't back down.

''You are lying.''

''No. We got lost.''

Goth looked at Throbb and nodded. The smaller Vampyrum grabbed Marina, opened his mouth and closed it carefully around her neck. I watched her become paralyzed with fear and flinched briefly as Throbb's saliva thread ran down her face. The Vampyrum's teeth closed a little more and pressed on her.

''It's a river!" cried Shade. ''Through the forest. A river and we must follow it.''

''Where to?''

''No idea. We can't figure it out. The picture doesn't make any sense.''

I could see that Goth was far from convinced of what Shade was telling him. Even if it was the truth. Then before I knew what was happening, I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and dragged out to the edge of the cave.

''Wait! What are you doing?'' Shade asked with panic and rushed after us.

Still in his grip, Goth tore me up by my cloak and held me over the gaping abyss. The scream stuck in my throat when I saw how far away the ground was below my feet. I clung to the front of my cloak with both hands with all my might to prevent myself from slipping out.

''Let's try this again,'' Goth looked down at Shade. ''Where is your colony?''

''I already told you we need to follow that river...''

Goth let go of me for a second, causing Shade to scream. But he quickly caught me again by my hood. I swear at that moment, my heart skipped a beat.

''I'm slowly losing my patience, Shade,'' he said still menacingly calm, ''Tell me where this river leads to or your little human friend here is about to take a trip down.

_''He can't be serious?!'' _I looked desperately at Shade, who was struggling to find a way out.

''I swear Goth, we don't know much more than to follow the river. Honest!''

The Vampyrum prince looked at him intensely, then one by one he glanced at me and Marina.

''Actually, I don't know why I should let all three of you live. The loss of one of the two señoritas should be enough to get you to tell the truth.

''What? No! Wait!''

But Goth didn't listen to him and held me lower over the edge. Ready to let go at any moment. ''No, no!'' Fear tightened my throat, and I felt tears filling my eyes. "Don't!" I screamed in horror as I felt Goth releasing my hood a few inches.

''NO!'' Shade stared at Goth with his eyes open wide. ''Please, don't drop her! I swear I have no idea where the river is leading to. All I know is that we have to find and follow it. Believe me, please.'' He cried in distress and begged Goth to believe him. But the Vampyrum still didn't seem convinced. Or at least he saw no reason why he shouldn't kill me, anyway. Out of sheer desperation, I shouted: ''Without me, you won't get into Hibernaculum!''

Silence. For a moment, nobody said a word until Goth brought my face before his.

''What are you talking about?'' he asked. ''Shade's the one with the map. What would I need you for?''

''That's true, but..." frantically I pondered what to say. "But only I know the codeword. Without it, you'll never get into winter roost.''

''And you expect me to believe that?''

I frowned. ''Well, go ahead and kill me then. You'll see what you get when you reach the place where Shade's colony hibernates without being able to enter. The place has to be safe from all kinds of danger. You can't just walk in through a simple entrance.''

''So you need a... What did you say? Codeword to get in?'' I nodded while Goth rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ''Interesting. But why don't you just tell me what it is?''

''So you can drop me right here and now after that?'' I frowned at him. ''Forget it! Besides, who says I'm gonna tell you the right word? The only way for you to be sure I'm not lying is to let me live and get me to Hibernaculum as well.''

''And why doesn't Shade know the codeword? Or does he?' Goth looked over to the little Silverwing, who looked back at us totally confused.

''He... he doesn't know because there was no time'', I quickly explained. ''His mother could only give him the sound map before we both got blown away in that storm.''

Goth stared at me distrustfully. "I see," he finally said. Then for a short moment nothing happened, and I was afraid he would just let go of me, anyway. But then he pulled me back over the edge and threw me right into Shade's arms, who got knocked to the ground by the impact.

He then gave Throbb a head signal to let go of Marina for the time being and turned back to Shade.

''Show me that river. We have wasted enough time.''

* * *

Goth and Throbb flew close by our side. Wingtip to wingtip. Escape was hopeless. Even if we tried, the two giant bats would have caught up with us in seconds.

It was not long before the gentle sound of flowing water came to my ears and I started to feel sick. Ariel, Frieda, Mercury. They and all the other Silverwings were in great danger. Danger that Shade and I were about to deliver into their home.

I shivered at the thought of Goth killing them all. One by one. All winter long. I could already hear their cries and the wails and Bathsheba's curses that this was all my fault. Mine and Shade's. 

With concern, I looked up to my friend while Marina carried me through the air.

Since our departure neither of us had said a word, which was mainly because of our captors. There was no way for us to speak without the two Vampyrum hearing every word. But a conversation was urgently necessary. We had to make a plan for our escape. Besides, I felt Marinas reproachful look in the neck the whole time and knew that she also had something to tell me.

''When are we finally there?'' Throbb asked, shivering after we followed the course of the water for an hour.

''Maybe another night or two,'' replied Shade. ''Once we reach the landmark, I'll know it.''

''I hope you know what you're doing," Goth hissed at him. "If this is another one of your tricks, think of your friend Marina.''

After the thing with the codeword, Goth didn't want to risk losing me. However, he had no use for Marina, except to use her as a leverage in case Shade or I refused to do what he said.

Silently, we flew on for a while until the horizon brightened in the east.

''I'm hungry,'' said Marina. ''We haven't eaten for a long time.

''She's right,'' I thought, feeling the yawning hole in my stomach. What I'd give for a pizza.

Goth looked at us. ''All right, eat some of your little insects, but stay in sight of the river. We're watching you.'' Shade nodded and dove, followed by Marina.

While the two giant bats circled above us, Shade and Marina searched without enthusiasm for insect eggs and snow fleas. I for myself crouched next to a sparsely vegetated blueberry bush and picked a berry. None of us dared to speak in a normal tone.

''Guys, we need a plan, and we need it fast,'' whispered Marina. ''We can't lead them to Hibernaculum.''

''I know,'' Shade whispered back. ''But there is nothing we can do at the moment. Unless you have an idea how we get rid of them again.''

Marina let out a sigh, obviously not having an idea right now.

''How come they even caught you two?''

''They ambushed us in the forest,'' said Shade, ''We didn't even saw them coming.''

''I see.''

''And how did you get caught? I thought you were at Romulus place?''

Shade's eyes went huge. ''Vanessa, don't tell us that...''

I shook my head. ''No, Shade. Romulus is fine.''

''Then how come you aren't with him right now?'' Marina asked.

''I- I couldn't bear to stay behind and do nothing besides wait for your return. So I ... followed you. But as soon as I reached the forest Goth found me.''

''You did what?'' Marina had trouble keeping her voice in check. ''We told you to stay with Romulus for a reason and still you decided to wander off?''

''Marina, shh. They can hear us.'' Shade nodded towards the Vampyrums and watched them nervously. But Marina didn't care.

''We had a deal Vanessa.''

''A stupid deal,'' I retored now getting angry myself. ''From the very beginning we three wanted to make the journey to Hibernaculum together. Why should I suddenly stay behind?''

''Maybe because you are hurt and sick? And maybe because we care about your health, which apparently you don't.''

''I'm not sick,'' I said, crossing my arms.

''Oh, you sure you aren't.'' Marina rolled her eyes. ''I'm sure you feel perfectly fine and your arm is not even hurting at all right?''

"Guys, listen," Shade tried to smooth things over. ''Following us may not have been the best idea. But discussing it won't help us now. We'd better figure out how to...'' He couldn't get any further, because in that moment, Goth swooped down on us.

''That's it,'' he said, ''We need to find a place to sleep.''

* * *

A while later, Shade, Marina and I cowered in the furthest corner of an abandoned den in an old tree. Throbb hung sullenly at the entrance, keeping watch, and Goth was out hunting.

I was still mad at Marina for snapping at me earlier. Honestly, what was her problem? She acted like I had pneumonia and was about to die or something. I only had a slightly infected wound on my wrist. Which also didn't hurt at all. Well, at least not if I didn't move my arm too much. Other than that, I was fine. ... Well, thinking more clearly about this I had to admit that I did felt quite tired and weak since I woke up. Also did I barely ate anything from the raspberry I picked. Plus, my body felt uncomfortably warm. But was that fever? Marina might be wrong. Then again, unlike humans animals have a better sense of smell. So maybe she acted like this, not because I was looking sick but because she could smell it.

''I just can't believe how you could be so reckless,'' she said.

I looked at Marina and frowned. ''Would you stop that already?'' I hissed back. ''I'm fine. There is nothing to worry about ok?!''

''Of course there is,'' She crawled over to me in the cramped room and looked at me harshly. ''You may act like your injury's nothing but a scratch, when in truth...''

''When in truth what?''

She huffed. ''Forget it. You won't listen to me, anyway. You're probably just feeling a little over your head with the fever. Otherwise, you'd see reason.''

''For the last time, Marina. I don't have ...''

''Who is having a fever?''

I turned around and saw with shock that Throbb was staring at us. He must have overheard our conversation.

''Oh, uh. No one.,'' Shade quickly said, ''No one is sick or has a fever or anything.'' But the Vampyrum wasn't buying it.

''I know what I heard.'' He looked at Marina and then at me. ''She said that you are ill. Is that truth?''

Without waiting for an answer, Throbb got closer and took a sniff on me. I flinched back, but he still came up to me and then grimaced. ''I thought so. You smell different from before. And not very well, I might add.

"What was that?" I asked indignantly.

Throbb nodded in Marina's direction. ''As she said, you smell of sickness, señorita. And it would not be good if Goth were to find out about this.''

''He won't and I'm not sick.'' I said now frowning at him, but the Vampyrum just shrugged. ''Alright, keep telling that to yourself.''

I wanted to say something in response, but then Goth showed up at the entrance of the cave. The carcass of a finch in his claws. Throbb licked his lips and was about to pounce on the prey, but Goth held him back with a growl. The three of us watched in disgust as the giant bat tore the meat from the bird and devoured it hungrily. Only when Goth had gotten his hands on the best pieces did he let Throbb join in the meal.

Moments later Goth looked over to us, his muzzle stained red with the blood of the Finch. ''My eating habits still seem to make you uncomfortable, I see.'' 

"You eat bats. It's against nature,'' Marina replied.

"Is it?" Goth tilted his head. However, he didn't care much for her words. ''At least better than having the desire to become a human.'' He snorted and gave me a brief disdainful look. ''Those banded bats in the mountains. They made a religion out of worshiping humans instead of the almighty Zotz.''

''Why don't you two just travel south to your jungle?'' I asked. ''Haven't you had enough of stuffing your bellies with mountain bats?

''Don't be silly. Those few dozen were hardly more than a snack. And even if we had rationed them out and fed on just one of them at night, it would hardly have lasted the winter.'' Goth shook his head. ''Oh, no. What we need is a warm place and plenty of food. Like the winter roost of your colony, Shade.''

The young Silverwing backed away, and I noticed how uncomfortable he felt right now. Betraying his own colony. He couldn't do that. They needed to come up with a plan to get rid of Goth and Throbb, and that fast before Goth runs out of patience and kills us all.

The cannibal looked at Shade vividly and licked some bird blood from the lips.

''You know, Shade, should you actually keep your word and really lead us to Hibernaculum, I would be willing to reward you.''

''Excuse me?''

''I could take you to the jungle and teach you how to hunt and fight. You could live among bats who possess true power. Free from the owls and their stupid laws.''

Was he for real? Why did Goth make him such an offer all of a sudden? I gazed at the Shade and saw him staring blankly at Goth.

''Don't believe a word he said,'' Marina said with a sinister look at Goth. ''He's a liar. Once we reach Hibernaculum, the three of us will be the first he and his cousin will kill.''

Goth wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, he tore a piece of bird flesh from the bone and offered it up to Shade. ''You could grow Shade. Just try it. The birds are not your friends.

''You are wrong. Orestes is a bird too, and he is our friend,'' I said.

''Oh yes. Where is this owl chick, anyway? Probably got tired of you and fluttered home or something.'' He laughed.

I glared at him angrily, but said nothing. My eyes drifted back to the almost completely gnawed off bird carcass, and for a short moment the desire for a roast chicken or something similar arose in me. To live only on berries day in day out was nothing in the long run. But I could not hunt. And even if I could, I would not do it because I knew that my friends wouldn't approve.

I felt Goth's gaze on me as I continued to look at the Finch whose guts were steaming in the cold air.

"What about you?" he suddenly asked me. The slice of flesh still in his claws. ''I don't know much about the eating habits of your kind, but you look like you'd like to have some, don't you?''

''What? No, I...''

Goth smirked. ''Try talking your way out of this one, Vanessa. I saw the look on your face. It's the look of a hungry predator forced to hold back.''

I froze, unable to object. Much less I wanted to know what Shade and Marina must think right now. Nor did I want to see the expression on their faces.

''So what is it? Just say it. I'm more than willing to give you a share.''

_"As if.''_ "No,'' I repeated myself. Although I would have loved to eat some meat again. But not today.

"Not even a little bite?" He held the meat right in front of me, but I shook my head.

''I said no. Besides, I can'! eat this, anyway. It's raw. We humans can't eat raw meat.''

''I see. Well, your loss.'' Goth devoured the meat himself and then went after the Finch's remains.

When the bird was gnawed off, Goth pushed its bone into a corner and looked outside. ''It's getting late. Time for us to get some sleep.'' As if to answer, Throbb gave a big yawn. I too, was growing tired and Shade and Marina were just about to flutter up to the ceiling to roost upside down as usual.

"Not so fast, you two," Goth stopped them. "We can't take any chances of either of you slipping away.'' He spread one of his huge wings and nodded Shade over to him. "You will sleep under there. Throbb, you take Marina and... "Thoughtfully, his eyes wandered over to me.

''Uh, I can take her too,'' Throbb quickly said. Which surprised me a little. At the same time, I remembered that he had not yet told his cousin about my so-called illness. Goth, however, thought otherwise. ''No, you'll probably nibble at her in your sleep. And we need her as much as we need Shade. Assuming she is telling us the truth about this codeword.''

I swallowed and looked helplessly over to Shade. But he just gave me a helpless look in return and walked towards Goth. I hesitated for a moment, then followed him. With a queasy feeling in the stomach, we both lay down next to the cannibal who wrapped his wings tightly around us. It took some time, but after a few minutes I finally fell asleep. Lulled in by Shade's soft breaths and Goth's regular heartbeat at my ear.


	32. Cruelty

I had a strange dream. Marina, Shade and I were one of forty thieves from the Arabian tales of 1001 nights and on a quest to find the hidden cave full with gold and other treasure. For some reason, I was the only one who knew the magic words to open the cave. But before I could say them out loud, I woke up.

With a soft groan, I opened my eyes and raised my hand to rub the sleep out of them. I tried to sit up but Goth's wing laid heavy upon me which made it troublesome for me to move. With a sigh, I dropped my head back onto the Vampyrum's mane and rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache coming up. This wasn’t unusual for me since I often got headaches after waking up from either sleeping too less or too long. But this time something was different. It wasn't just my head which was hurting me but my entire body as well. Furthermore, my eyes were sore, and I felt warm and cold at the same time. _''Great. I probably really am sick,''_ I thought and took a glimpse at my wounded arm. The skin under the bandage was itching terribly. I didn’t need to look underneath the leaves to know that the infection got worse despite Romulus saying it wasn’t so bad at first. I sighed. I really should have stayed underground with the king of the rats.

Since the others were still asleep, I closed my eyes to get some more rest, but the sound of loud snoring rang in my ears and kept me awake. Looking around, I realized that this was what had woken me up. How the others could still be asleep with this noise was a mystery to me. However, it didn't take me long to find the origin of the sound. It was Throbb. He was snoring so loudly, it echoed in the tree hole. He was snoozing in a half-sitting, half-lying position with his back against the wall. His head was tilted to the side and a thin thread of saliva ran across his open mouth.

_''Poor Marina,''_ I thought with pity and once more wondered how anybody could sleep with all that noise. One look at my friend was enough to know that it was not possible. Trapped in his wing, Marina lay pressed against Throbb's body and didn’t make a sound. But she wasn't asleep. Her eyes were wide open and bloodshot as if she hadn't slept all day. She just kept starring straight ahead, not daring to close her eyes even for a second.

I felt bad for her and wished I could help but I was kinda trapped myself. Nor did I even liked to move at all. And as if feeling sick wasn't awful enough I also had to come up with an idea how to hide it from Goth. A hopeless task I realized from the start. If Throbb had already noticed that I wasn't feeling well then Goth most likely has too. Especially since I spend the entire day pressed against his body like a plushy. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep once more, as something pushed itself against my head. With a frown, I moved my head to get rid of it, but it didn’t work. Then I heard someone sniffing me and froze. With my eyes opened wide I dared not to move an inch while feeling Goth's face close to my own.

As he kept sniffing my hair and face, I instantly knew that I could throw any idea of hiding my sickness from him into the bin. Nervously, I shifted around to see Goth staring straight at me with a frown on his face. None of us said a single word. We just kept looking at each other for a few minutes. Then he got up, causing me and Shade to fall to the ground. The Silverwing gave a short 'uff' as he hit the floor but didn't wake up. Goth, however, just stretched himself to get the sleep out of his body and walked over to Marina and Throbb. With a harsh push, he woke his cousin up from his dreamland. ''Get up!'' he growled.

The other Vampyrum let out a groan and opened his eyes with a yawn. ''Already?'' he asked, scratching his belly. ''But it's still early.'' He peered outside and following his glance I saw the remaining glow of the sun disappearing in the west.

''The earlier we leave the better.'' Goth walked over to Shade and roughly shook him awake as well.

Throbb groaned, wanting to go back to sleep. I couldn't blame him. I too wished to get some more rest. I was sick and had no interest in traveling around in the cold. But there was no way Goth would leave me behind. Not as long he believed he needed me just as he needed Shade to get to the Silverwings.

So without further ado, we made ourselves ready to get going. Marina looked like she would doze off at any time due to lack of sleep, but was still willing to grab my hands and carry me through the air as usual. However, Goth thought otherwise. Not tolerating any complaints, he ordered Throbb to carry me on his back. To my surprise, his cousin agreed without protest and crouched down so I could climb up on his back.

During our trip, none of us spoke a word. We just flew in utter silence and with a tense atmosphere in between us until Goth decided we should take a break and grab some food before searching for a place to roost for the day. Once again he told me, Marina and Shade to stay close to the river where he and Throbb could watch us and warned us not to even think of a plan to escape. Thanks to my illness I felt even less hungry today, so I didn't even bother picking a berry from a near bush. Instead, I just sat there on the riverbank and drew some pictures in the dirt with a stick, wishing to be in a warm and safe place where I could lie down and sleep until I felt much better.

''Hey, Vanessa?''

I glanced up, feeling a hand on my shoulder. Shade looked at me with concern. ''You don't look so well. Is everything all right?'' he asked.

''Of course not,'' Marina hissed, ''Can’t you see?'' She moved over to me and put her hand onto my forehead for a moment and sighed. ''The fever got higher. There is no way you can keep denying it, Vanessa. You are sick.''

''What are we supposed to do? Throbb already knows that she is sick. How can we make sure that Goth won't?''

''We can't.''

Shade and Marina looked at me puzzled. ''What do you mean?'' I sighed and pulled my legs closer to my body. ''He already knows.'' I heard my friends gasping in shock, but I did not raise my head to look into their faces.

''He knows?'' Shade asked.

''Of course, he does,'' I replied with a frown. ''I had to sleep the entire day right under his nose. No wonder he caught the odor of my illness.''

''Oh, no. That's not good. That's definitely not good.''

''Guys, I know it seems like the worst thing ever, but I doubt Goth will do something. Remember he still thinks he needs me to get into Hibernaculum just like he needs Shade.''

''We know. It's just that we are worried about...''

''Instead of standing and babbling around you would well to get something to eat you three.'' Turning around, we noticed Goth standing right behind us with his wings crossed before his chest. How long has he been there? Hopefully, he had heard nothing from what we were saying. Not wanting him to feel more suspicious about us Shade quickly tried to come with an explanation. ''Uh, you see. We were just...

''Not talking about any ideas of how you want to escape I hope.'' Shade shook his head and gulped as the Vampyrum leaned his face close to his own.

''N-no, of course not.''

''I wouldn't recommend it. Otherwise, I'll personally see to it that your little trio becomes a duo. ¿Comprende?'' Shade nodded. ''Remember: I don't need all of you.''

''Of course you do.''

''¿Perdón?'' Goth looked at me, raising an eyebrow. ''Would you mind repeating that, señorita? I believe I heard you say I need you all or something?''

It was not my intention that he heard me but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. While trying to ignore Marina and Shade’s shocked and worried expressions I looked up and stared Goth right into his eyes. ''I said: You need all three of us. Me and Shade to get you to the Silverwings. And Marina as a hostage to have something on us.''

''Oh, do I?'' Grinning deviously Goth stepped closer. ''So with other words. I can't do anything to you three until we are at Hibernaculum right?'' I nodded and instantly wanted to slap myself. But too late. With a squeak, I got grabbed by my collar and lifted from the ground. ''Well, I agree with you on one thing señorita. I do need all three of you alive, at least for the time being. But who says I have to keep you entirely unharmed?''

My face turned pale and although I was still warm because of my fever, I started shivering. I had no idea what Goth had in mind by saying that, but I also didn’t want to know more about it either. I just wanted to get away from him. Preferably as far away as possible. The Vampyrum just chuckled, amused by my fear.

''Hey, now just wait a minute ok!?'' Shade tried to prevent further harm by attracting the cannibal’s attention, but Goth ignored him. With a brief glance over his shoulder, he signaled his relative to fly over.

''Make sure these two don’t get in my way.''

''What?''

''No!''

My two bat friends tried to rush to my aid, but Throbb yanked them back and held them tight.

''Now, please, Goth,'' cried Shade, “you promised not to harm us if we took you to Hibernaculum.

The giant bat snorted. ''I promise you nothing,'' he replied, ''But just because I have to let you live doesn't mean I can’t hurt you.'' With a smirk, he stared down into my eyes. I wished I could just vanish into thin air or fainted. Only to avoid witnessing what Goth was going to do next. He snatched my right ankle with his free hand without letting go of me with the other. ''Well then,'' he began, ''you are really nothing but a burden to us. You can't fly. And now you are sick as well.'' He grimaced for a moment. ''Unfortunately, since I don't know if you're trying to fool me with this password story, I can't rip your little heart out. However, as I just told your friends here. It doesn’t mean that I can't harm you at all. ''His gaze wandered to my foot. I twitched and tried to pull my leg away from his grasp, but it was no use.

''Let go!'' I cried but Goth just tightened his grip around my ankle before throwing me onto the ground. With a groan, I felt my butt hitting the floor. I tried to move away, but the Vampyrum set a knee down on my leg to keep me in place. With my heart beating hard in my chest, I watched him grabbing hold of my foot once again. This time with both hands.

''No need for you to look so worried señorita. It's not like you need to walk, anyway.''

''No! Don't!'' I struggled to make him let go of me but it was no use. Goth just gave me a cruel smile and gripped my leg even tighter. What then followed was the unsavory sound of bones cracking and the worst pain I ever felt in my life. 

* * *

Orestes gasped and hid behind the trunk of a cut-down tree. With his breath held on, he waited for his father's soldiers to fly past him. He had no idea if they were just searching for the Silverwings or if the general sent them out to go looking for him as well. ''Tsk, as if,'' the young owl muttered to himself. But still didn’t dare to let himself get caught.

Just when he thought the coast was clear, he heard someone else approaching. This time it was two wolves. Members of Luger's wolf pack. They were sniffing around as if they were searching for something but it didn't look like they were on a hunting trip. ''What are they looking for?'' Orestes wondered. Noticing one wolf looking up, he quickly shut his beak with his wings and cowered behind his hiding place. ''Don’t let them know you are here!'' he told himself and kept completely still.

''Did you hear that?'' one of the wolves, a female, asked.

Her companion gave her a bored look.

''Must be your imagination. You are seeing a lot of things lately.''

''Maybe it was a Silverwing.''

''Yeah, or that 'giant bat' you saw yesterday.'' The male wolf sneered and shook his head.

''Well, that bat was pretty huge.''

''That was no bat. It was a bird. Most likely an owl.'' The female wolf growled while the male sat down and scratched himself behind his ear with back paw.

''I'm telling you. What I saw was a bat. Bigger than any other I had seen before and it looked like it was carrying something in his claws.''

''Like what?'' the male asked, ''Another 'giant bat'?''

The she-wolf frowned. ''No. It looked more like...'' she paused and sat down to think for a minute. Then she remembered ''Yes, like that shrunken human we met in the southern valley. You know, that one who was with Ursa and that runty Silverwing and the Brightwing.''

''Oh, yeah I remember her. But are you certain it was her?''

She shrugged. ''More or less. I'm just telling you what I saw.''

''In other words, it could have just been a squirrel. A squirrel and an owl.''

''It was no owl!’’ But the male wolf wasn't interested in listening to her any longer. Instead, he got back up and made his way into the woods. ''Now come,'' he said. ''I'm hungry. I don't want to keep searching for those Silverwings with an empty stomach. In the end, I'll be seeing nonsense stuff like you.''

''That was no-nonsense!'' With a soft growl, she ran after the male and moments later they both disappeared in the thicket.''

Orestes needed a moment to process what he had just heard. Giant Bat?! Shrunken human?! Were they speaking about Vanessa? Probably. They were no other mouse-sized human. Orestes was shocked. He did not understand what was going on, but he was sure his friends were in grave danger. ''I need to find them, quick!'' He spread out his wings and flung himself into the sky, hoping to find Vanessa, Shade and Marina before it was too late.

* * *

That ****!!!

Clenching my teeth I buried my face into the grass and cursed Goth for what he just did. I wanted to scream, but apart from painful groans, no sound came over my lips. I just lay there, hitting and scratching the ground and wished for the pain to ease. But it didn't.

I think I heard my friends shouting at Goth. But he was just laughing. I didn’t care. My entire focus was on my leg. I couldn’t believe it. That guy seriously broke it. Just like that. With tears in my eyes, I glared at Goth. The Vampyrum had his back turned to me and was talking to Shade as if nothing was wrong. Marina was by my side and tried to comfort me.

''Deep breaths Vanessa. And don't move. You will just make it worse.''

Make it worse! Tsk, was she kidding me? How could my leg get any worse than it already was? It was broken. ... Okay depending on the fracture it might never heal correctly. This would be worse. But I wasn't concerned about that. Right now I just felt sick. Terrible sick. Not only because of my current illness but because of the dreadful pain I was in. I barely noticed Marina gathering a couple of sticks to tie them around my ankle together with a torn-off piece of my dress to splint it as good as possible.

''I think we dawdled around long enough,'' Goth said without giving me even a glimpse. ''We should get going before the sun gets up.''

Throbb scratched his head. ''But Goth, it's not even close to sunrise yet.''

''I said: We are going!,'' he said, glaring at him, ''Fooling around won't get us to Hibernaculum.''

''Uhm, I know. I was just...''

But Goth had already stopped listening and turned his attention back to Shade. ''Now, shall we get going?'' The young Silverwing nodded and spread his wings but Marina held him back. ''Wait!'' she said. ''We can't go now.''

''Why is that?'' Goth asked, glaring at her.

''Eh, b-because... because of Vanessa,'' she said, ''She is injured and sick. We need to look for some herbs for her to get better.'' ''And why should we?''

I glare at Goth hatefully. Of course he had no interest in helping me.

''But you need her, remember. What if she dies on the way?''

Goth looked like he wished to object, but then he threw a brief glimpse over to me and thought more about Marina's words. He had to admit that he needed me alive, at least until we reached the winter roost of the Silverwings. And even if he didn't kill me himself. Didn't mean I wouldn't kick the bucket on our way, anyway.

''Fine,'' he eventually said with a sigh, ''Go and look for some herbs for her. But don't take too long.''

Marina smiled with relief and signaled Shade to come with her. ''We will be quick, I promise.'' They were almost in the air as Goth stopped them by grabbing Shade by his wing. ''Wait a minute. I didn't say you both are going.'' He turned around and looked at his cousin. ''Throbb, you fly with Marina. We will wait for you here. Make sure to be back before sunrise.'' Throbb nodded while Marina exchanged a short worried look with me and Shade. Then she went airborne and followed Throbb into the forest.

For a moment none of us said a word. We just stared into the direction both of them flew. Then Goth gave me a brief glance and wrinkled his nose as if this slight delay was solely my fault. That bastard! I would be fine if he hadn’t hurt me back at the power station and now here. I was so mad at him right now and would have loved to punch him in the gut or curse his face. But I didn’t want to risk him breaking my other leg too. One was enough.

''Are you ok with the pain?'' I heard Shade asking me and felt his hand touching my shoulder in comfort. I nodded slowly and hissed as my leg was still throbbing in pain. Looking at it I noticed that Marina wrapped a pretty stable bandage around it. Hopefully, it will heal without problems. Seeing me in pain, Shade was outraged and glared at Goth. ''Why did you do that? I promised to get you to Hibernaculum. Why did you have to hurt her like that?''

''As far as I remember_ enano_, there was no deal between us that said I can't harm any of you. Only that I won't kill you.'' With a grin, Goth leaned towards Shade, who struggled not to flinch back in fear. ''Though I have to say, I am quite impressed señorita.'' I raised my head and saw him looking at me. ''I would have thought you would be screaming and crying your eyes out.''

True. I felt like whining. But I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Besides, I was feeling so miserable in general that I did not even have the strength to express my agony out loud. The fact that I didn't pass out was the only positive thing. Although I honestly wouldn't mind fainting. Better than feeling like you're gonna throw up at any moment.

''A worthy being in the name of Zotz. I have to admit.''

Zotz. Again I wondered how a bat could know about a deity from an ancient human culture? Sure he was portrayed as a bat but still...

"You look like you know something about him. Goth glanced at me with interest, but I shook my head. "All I know is that he's a from Mayan mythology. "A folk of my kind that existed many years ago.

Goth snorted. "I assure you, señorita. Zotz is no myth. He is real and lives at the core of the earth as I have told you before during our brief...captivity. '

_''Aha!''_

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I've forgotten about what happened in the mountains. For making a fool of me, you two will suffer far worse than you have before. Especially you.'' The look Goth gave me was terrifying. But he didn't talk any further about it and turned away from us to look out Marina and Throbb.

Not long after, the two finally returned.

"I found some herbs. I hope they'll work.'' Marina dropped a bunch of plants in my lap. I tried to grab one of them, but Goth beat me to it and looked at them skeptically.

"What have you brought here?" he asked.

"Oh, just some herbs to help reduce fever and allay inflammation. Nothing more.''

"I see.'' Goth looked a little closer at the bundle of plants.

"Goth, can we please move on now? I'm hungry and we have yet to hunt anything.''

''I know.'' His cousin's whining was really getting on his nerves.

"I'm just saying," he defended himself. "The sun will be up soon and I don't want to go to bed on an empty stomach.''

"Can't you think about anything but your stomach for once in your life?''

As those two kept arguing, I ate the herbs Marina had found.

''Is the pain still bad?'' she asked. I shook my head. ''No, it's bearable.'' I could see that she wasn't buying my lie, but didn't say anything.

"We gotta get rid of Goth and Throbb. " said Shade.

"And how do we do that?" I asked. ''We can't just fly away. They'd catch us in no time.''

He sighed. "I know.''

"I also found something else.'' Marina pulled out another bundle of leaves, which she had carefully hidden in a fold on her right wing.

"Wait, are those..."

She nodded. ''It's not much, but I think the amount should be enough for us to sneak away without them noticing.''

"You're a genius.'' Shade laughed with delight and I too couldn't help but grin.

Marina gave us a small smile. "Thanks. The only question is how do we get those two to eat the leaves? I don't think Goth will fall for the salad story again.

"That's true, unfortunately.'' Now what? How could we make Goth and Throbb eat the sleeping herbs without realizing it? Maybe if ... An idea sparked inside me. It was risky, but it might be our only option. "Guys, I think I know what we can do. Although you're not gonna like it.'' 

* * *

Goth brought a bat into the cave and tore it up hungrily. I noticed that it was a Brightwing, and my stomach turned._ ''Of course. That makes the entire thing a lot easier,''_ I thought while Marina glared at the two cannibals with hate.

''Be thankful I found that loner,'' Goth said to her, ''otherwise I might have eaten you now.'' Marina snorted and turned away from him.

''Is there really no other way,'' she asked. I knew she would be displeased with it. I too would have preferred if Goth had captured something else, but sadly this wasn't the case.

''A Brightwing, of all things.'' Marina shuddered and pinned her ears back as if she was trying to block out the Vampyrum eating noises.

''So... which of us should do it?'' I asked but got no answer. I didn't blame them. I wasn't exactly keen to do it myself. But one of us had to smuggle the leaves under the cannibal bats' food. Preferably unnoticed.

Shade sighed. ''I'll do it.'' Marina and I stared at him in surprise.

''Are you sure?''

''Yes... I mean... someone has to. Besides it's not like I have to eat any of it.''

“Maybe a bit. Otherwise, Goth might become suspicious.''

''I think he already is.'' Marina nodded nervously to the side. Following her glance, I notice that Goth had interrupted his meal and was looking straight at us. Hopefully, he hadn't heard us. He tipped his head thoughtfully to the side and stared at us quietly. Blood dripped from his chin. I wanted to turn away in disgust but then a grin spread across his face. What was that guy up to now?

''Señorita, may I offer you a piece of this delicious meal?''

_''What?''_

''Just take a bite. There is plenty enough.''

''What?'' Throbb stopped eating and stared at Goth in shock. His mouth full.

I was also perplexed, but quickly recollected myself. ''No thanks,'' I replied without thinking further. Shade nudged me. ''Wait a minute Vanessa,'' he whispered, ''maybe...''

''You misunderstand señorita. That wasn’t a request.'' I couldn't help but notice the threatening undertone in his voice. Yet... Should I really? Not that I had a problem eating meat. But this was a bat. A Brightwing to be exact.

''It' okay.'' Marina gave me a faint smile ''You have to eat something, anyway. You didn't eat a single berry today.'' ''But...'' She shook her head and shivered slightly. ''Do it! F-for the plan.'' I gulped and turned to Shade, but the Silverwing didn't know what to say.

''Señorita?''

"All right.'' Taking a deep breath, I struggled to get up to my feet with the help of my friends. Easier said than done. At the slightest movement, the pain shot into my injured leg. I almost dropped down again. With my teeth clenched together, I limped over to the Vampyrum and tried not to let them see in how much pain I was in. Before the half-eaten carcass of the bat, I slumped back to the ground. Fortunately, the poor soul’s head was turned away, so I didn't have to see its face.

"¡Bueno, bon appétit!"

I didn't want that. I didn’t want to eat bat meat. But I had no choice. I couldn’t back out now. With my back turned to the bats, I leaned over the cadaver and dug my fingers into the meat. Pretending to tear a piece out. In doing so, I hid tiny pieces of the sleeping herb deep inside it as stealthily as possible. Here a bit. There a bit. Just as I was putting the last bits into another spot, Throbb bent over to see what I was doing.

"She hardly eats anything," he complained.

"Eat!" growled Goth and roughly pushed me in the back. "I told you to eat. So eat!''

I couldn't get away from it now. I had to eat from the bat. With a heavy heart, I tore off a piece off and took a hesitant bite. I tried not to think about what it was as I chewed. The taste itself was hard to tell. On one hand, it did not differ from any other meat I tasted before in my life. On the other hand, it was nothing that I would like to eat again. After I consumed the meat, I moved away and let Goth and Throbb eat the rest. 


	33. Showdown on Ice

''Psst, Vanessa!''

''Hmm?'' I slowly woke up, feeling someone poking me in the shoulder. ''What is it Shade?'' I was grumpy that he woke me up so early. The sun was still up and I felt like I had slept no longer than a few minutes.

''We got to leave, remember? Quick, before they get up.''

''Oh, right!''

I quickly rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and together we freed ourselves from Goth's wings. We tried to be as quiet as possible, fearing he might wake up. In that case, everything would be ruined. I didn't even want to imagine what he would do to us. But luckily, Goth was so deep in his narcotic sleep that he noticed not a thing. We were halfway free when Shade accidentally bumped into my broken leg, causing me to cry out in pain. Reflexively he pressed a hand on my mouth to shut me up.

''Señorita!''

Shade and I froze in horror. Like in slow motion, we both turned our heads. One of Goth's eyes was wide open, staring directly at us. But he didn't move. His eye was dead, not fixed.

_''He's still asleep''_, I thought. What luck!

For the next twenty seconds, the three of us just stared at each other. Waiting to see what happens next. Eventually, Shade moved a bit closer to him. ''Go to sleep,'' he whispered. As if on cue, Goth's eye fell shut, and he breathed evenly again. I allowed myself to sigh with relief before hurrying to free myself from Goth's wing. Afterward, we both crawled over to Throbb. The heavy Vampyrum was sleeping in the exact same position as he did yesterday. Only this time his mouth was closed. Which was very pleasing. Quickly, Shade and I helped Marina to get free as well.

''Uff'', she said, ''I don't think I could have lasted another day. That guy's snoring is just awful.''

''Shhhh!'' hissed Shade. ''Careful, Marina. You might wake them up.''

''I know. I'm sorry,'' she whispered back.

Silently we crept to the entrance of the cave.

''We better close our eyes,'' said Shade, closed his eyes and jumped into the air. Marina did the same, grabbed my hands with her feet, and flew out. In our hurry, I failed to notice how my temporary bandage loosened and the torn off shred of my dress remained behind us in the cave.

* * *

I hadn't been outside in full daylight since I got shrunk. Well, except for that one time when Shade and I took that forbidden look at the sun.

Anyway. It was good to feel the sun's warmth on my skin. I really missed it. Yet, I was already warm enough because of my fever. Thanks to Marina's herbs, I felt a little better. But it would doubtless take a while until I'd recover fully. Especially because of my leg.

Once we were a good distance away from the cave, Marina thought it would be best to take a diversion through the forest, rather than just continuing our way by the river. Just in case.

''Goth knows we're following the river. If we remain on this route, he and Throbb will catch up with us in no time,'' she said.

''But what if we get lost and can't find our way back?'' Shade shook his head. ''We must make it to Hibernaculum as fast as possible. We got to warn my colony.''

''I know but Shade...''

''Guys, I share both your concerns. I really do. But don't you think we have some different problems right now?'' I said. ''In case you haven't noticed. We're flying around outside in the middle of the day. I say we better find a place to hide before someone sees us.''

The two of them grew quiet in shame. They still had their eyes closed and probably forgot that it was still daytime. I too had my eyes closed because of the light. But now I opened them again. First, it was a little unpleasant. Similar to when you turn on your mobile phone after a few hours in a dark room. But after merely a few minutes the light no longer bothered me that much.

The surrounding landscape looked simply amazing. Much nicer than on pictures you can find on the internet. Although I was already familiar with everything from our nightly travels, it seemed to me that the sun created a whole new picture of it.

''Say...,'' Marina hesitated, ''Will it hurt us? The sun, I mean.''

''Hasn't turned us to dust yet.''

''But will it blind us?''

I snickered. ''Guys, relax. There is nothing you need to worry about. Those are just stories. Just take your time opening your eyes and never look directly into the sun.''

I didn't hear any response coming from them at first. But then I heard my friends gasping with admiration and I knew they saw just what I was seeing.

''Wow!''

''Everything looks so beautiful. And so different,'' I heard Shade say with awe

I knew what he meant. Under the light of day, the world had a sheer dazzling beauty. Everything seemed to be illuminated from all sides, the trees, the bushes, the dead leaves, the snow, even the air. It was enchanting. Then all at once, it was getting darker. Thick grey clouds moved in front of the sun and icy wind came up, causing me to shiver with drops of rain dropping onto my nose.

''A storm is coming,'' said Marina.

* * *

Meanwhile, a tiny mosquito flew into the cave, in which Goth and Throbb were still quietly asleep. The insect buzzed a little around and then landed on top of Goth's nose. The Vampyrum furrowed his brows at the feeling of it but otherwise didn't wake up. The mosquito, however, wandered a little around on his nose until it found a suitable place to sting its sucking trunk.

**SMACK!**

''Annoying little pest.'' Goth wiped the squashed insect from his face with disgust and sat up. What a day. He just had the strangest dream. He couldn't remember much of it, though. It had something to do with his home, the jungle, and this human girl Vanessa. Goth shook his head. He rarely dreamed. For him, it was a way for Zotz to talk to him. But what did it mean? He looked beside him, expecting to find the said girl cuddled up against him in her sleep. But she was gone. With a quick glance to his other side, Goth realized that Shade had also disappeared.

Furious, Goth tumbled to his feet and plunged over to Throbb. Roughly he nudged him with his snout and lifted his wings to look underneath.

''What? What is it?'' Throbb asked in alarm.

''They are gone!''

Throbb blinked out of the cave entrance. ''It's still daytime,'' he said. ''They can't...''

''They're gone!'' Goth roared once more, sniffing the ground for their scent. But not for long. ''Get up.''

Throbb did as he said, but unlike his cousin, he didn't seem eager to pursue the fugitives.

''Er, you know. Perhaps it's for the best. I mean, just think of all the trouble those three have caused us.''

''You do realize that without them we won't get to Hibernaculum, and might not survive this winter.'' Goth had trouble containing his anger as his voice grew louder with each word.

''I know, it's just ...'', Throbb hesitated and looked back outside, ''There seems to be a storm coming. It would be safer if we stay inside. Besides, we might lose their scent in it.''

''Not if we have something to help us find them.'' A grin spread across Goth's face as he spotted something near the entrance. It didn't seem special. Just a piece of cloth. But Goth recognized it immediately. It was the piece that Marina had ripped out of Vanessa's dress and wrapped around her injured ankle. ''Well, that should come in handy.'' He picked it up and sniffed it. Vanessa's human scent was stuck to it. With this, it shouldn't be much of a problem finding her and her friends.

''I really think we should stay here. It's too dangerous to be outside in a thunderstorm.''

Goth spun around and grabbed Throbb by the throat. ''The winter is dangerous'', he hissed, ''Now get moving before I decide to eat you.''

Throbb gulped and nodded. ''S-sure. Let's go!''

Together they rushed out of the cave and chased after Vanessa, Marina, and Shade.

* * *

The initial drizzle quickly grew into a heavy downpour, accompanied by heavy gusts of wind. I held on tight to Marina's feet, hoping we won't get blown off course. Like it happened to me and Shade back when we were with the rest of his colony. Speaking of him, the young Silverwing was trying hard to stay in the air. The wind was throwing my wet hair into my face, so my vision was mostly cut off. Though I could still see that Shade got stronger in his flying. He was still struggling though. But not more than Marina, who was flying a few wingbeats behind him.

''We should land,'' she shouted over to him and I agreed. ''We can't go on in this weather.''

''Easier said than done,'' Shade replied giving us a brief look over his shoulder.

''There's a big pine tree over there. We should be able to get to it'', I nodded ahead and pointed with my foot towards the said tree. It was only a few miles away from us and as long as the wind didn't change its course we might make it without problems.

We turned to the tree and flew towards it when I noticed something between the branches. I shook my head to get my hair out of my face and looked closer. There was something in the tree. Something big with huge round eyes, a sharp beak, and brown feathers. I quickly realized what it was. ''Guys, Stop! There's an owl!''

Marina immediately stopped as best she could, but Shade got caught in another gust of wind and got blown directly towards the tree and the owl. With shock, I saw him trying to prevent the inevitable. But the owl had now noticed him too and flew up to get him. Before I could call out his name, they both collided with each other at full speed and plunged back into the pine tree. I urged Marina to rush over, hoping Shade was alright. Soon after she landed us both on a tree branch and gasped, noticing who Shade just crashed into.

It was no other than our dear friend Orestes. He and Shade lay sprawled out on a branch below. Looking dizzy but unharmed.

''Are you guys alright?'' Marina asked with worry.

Shade groaned and rubbed his head while sitting back up. ''I guess so'', he replied and turned around, now recognizing the owl as well. ''Orestes?''

''Hey, I'm happy to see you guys too. Though you didn't need to crash into me. A simple hello would have been enough.''

I chuckled at his statement.

''What are you doing here Orestes? Didn't you try to find Ursa?''

''I did. I flew to the eastern valley and found the forest animals who followed her, but not Ursa herself.''

''Why? Where is she?'' I asked.

Orestes just shrugged. ''All they could tell me was that she wanted to find a way to stop this war. So I figured I should go back and find you guys. I also heard a she-wolf talking about a giant bat that she saw. I knew she probably meant Goth, so I hurried to see if you guys were alright.''

''Now we are. We just escaped Goth and Throbb and ...urgh!'' I made the mistake to move my injured leg and a sharp pain shot through my body.

''What's wrong?''

''It's her leg'', Marina explained, kneeling beside me, ''Goth broke it to make sure we lead him to Hibernaculum.''

''What?'' Orestes looked at us with his eyes wide. ''H-he broke her leg?''

''We can be lucky that he didn't kill her'', said Shade.

''Yes'', Marina agreed. ''If you hadn't come up with that codeword thing Vanessa, he probably would have gotten rid of you in the first place.''

''Yeah, thanks for reminding me.''

Orestes blinked. ''Codeword thing?''

In a few sentences, we told him what happened to us since we had last seen each other. The young owl seemed shocked but was also glad to see us save and ... well, partly unharmed.

''I still can't believe he did that'', he said, looking at my leg. ''You sure you will be ok?''

''Yeah'', I said with a grimace. ''The pain isn't even that bad like it was at the beginning.''

''Or maybe you are just too sick to care for it much'', Marina replied.

''Yeah, maybe.''

''We better get you to Hibernaculum fast ... Wait. What happened to the bandage I wrapped around your leg?'' I wondered what she meant and looked at my right leg to see my bare ankle red, blue, and swollen. ''It must have fallen off as we fled.'' I leaned over to grab my foot without giving myself too much pain and pulled my shoe off. _''This is much better''_, I thought and wondered if I should take my other shoe off as well. But then I decided to keep it on at least for now.

''We should wrap your leg up again'', said Marina.

I shook my head. ''That can wait. We should hurry to Hibernaculum before...''

''Shh!'' Shade hushed me, ''I think I heard something.''

Wondering what he was talking about, I and the others followed his glance towards the sky. It was hard to see something because of the rain, but soon I spotted two very familiar outlines on the horizon. And they were getting closer.

_''Oh, no.''_

''You think it's them?''

''Who else could it be Orestes'', Shade fluttered over to the branch Marina and I sat on and grabbed my hands with his feet. ''Let's move!'' Without hesitation, the others followed him swiftly out of the tree. I didn't need to look back to know that Goth and Throbb were right on our trail.

''Where now?'' Orestes cried through the wind. Marina pointed with her chin towards the horizon where an enormous mass of clouds was forming. ''Maybe we can lose them in there,'' she suggested.

''Are you crazy?'' I asked, not believing she was serious. ''We can't just fly into a thundercloud.''

''We have no choice, Vanessa.'' I would have liked to protest further but my friends were already heading for the clouds.

A short time later we pushed through the abdomen of the first cloud and were immediately surrounded by sticky grey mist. It was so dense that it was almost impossible to see even half a mile from the tip of our nose.

''Guys?''I heard Orestes call out, but couldn't see him.

''Over here,'' Shade replied. His voice sounding a little muffled by the thick clouds around us.

''I can't see a thing,'' said Marina, who I couldn't see either but assumed to be right next to us.

''Neither can Goth nor Throbb. We should try to break through the top. Then we can take an arc back to the river.''

Said and done. Without further words, we fluttered higher and higher. Or was it lower and lower? To be honest, I had already lost orientation and was clinging onto Shade's feet. We swarmed around hills and valleys of grey fog that became denser and darker the deeper we went into the thundercloud. The surrounding air got so thick, it was getting hard to breathe.

''Say, do you have a strange feeling in your feathers, I mean fur as well?'' asked Orestes after a while.

''What do you mean?''

''Wait,'' said Marina, ''I think I know what you mean. ''My fur does feel kinda funny.''

''Mine does that mean?''

I still didn't understand what the three were talking about until a soft crackling around us gave me goosebumps as well. ''Eh, guys, I think we should get the hell out of here before...'' At that moment a bright flash of light illuminated the cloud, blinding us for a second. Followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

I urged Shade to speed up, as a pair of huge jaws pushed through the mist right in front of us. Just in time Shade rolled with me to the side. Making Goth miss us by an inch. But there was no time to relax. The Vampyrum already rushed forward for a second attack. Fortunately, Shade managed to ditch him again, causing him to crash into the fog instead of us. My heart was racing in my chest, while Shade rushed blindly around. Goth right behind us. I knew it was a terrible idea to fly into the clouds. How should we find our way out without getting grabbed by our enemies or stroke by lightning?

I didn't know where Orestes or Marina was. I just hoped they were fine and not attacked by Throbb, who I also had no idea where he was.

Then a shadow appeared in the wall of clouds in front of us and before I knew it, Throbb rushed out of it. Shade tried to dive out from under him but the Vampyrum was faster. He charged and slashed a hole in the membrane of his wing, causing Shade to wince in pain and almost letting me go. Fortunately, I grasped hold of him myself. Throbb then tried another attack, but got slammed by Orestes and pushed out of our sight.

I could still see the black outlines of the two opponents vanishing into the mist, as Goth reappeared. He got hold of my injured leg and pulled me away from Shade. I screamed in pain and let go of his feet. Shade tried to come to my aid but Goth backhanded him in the face, throwing him into the mist.

''SHADE!'' Horrified, I stared at the place where Shade had disappeared and wished to follow him to know if he was okay. Goth grasped me roughly by my dress and grinned down at my face. A vicious gleam flickering in his eyes. His claws pierced deep into the fabric that I could feel them scratching my skin.

''Hola señorita. Thought you could just run off, didn't you?'' His grin turned to a snarl, and he leaned his face closer to mine. ''I got a new deal for you, _human_. You and the Silverwing will take us straight to Hibernaculum or I'll rip your guts out.''

I gasped. Suddenly Goth rolled onto his back getting hit by Marina's shiny body. ''Come on!'' she yelled at me. I grabbed her feet and pulled myself free from the cannibal's claws. Marina raced with me down at breakneck speed until we broke through the last layer of clouds and were back in the open.

''Where are the others?'' I asked and looked around searching for Shade and Orestes.

''I don't know'', Marina replied, breathing heavily ''I thought Shade was with you.''

''He was, but then he got knocked into the mist by Goth.''

''Hopefully, he is alright.''

''Yeah'', I said with a nod. ''And Orestes as well.''

Marina circled with me for a few seconds in the air, then headed for a group of trees below us. ''I better get you to safety first, Vanessa.''

''But what about Shade and Orestes?''

''I'll find them don't worry. But you are still hurt and sick. And being too long in this rain might make it worse for you.''

I knew she was right. Still, I wanted to stay with her and help look for our friends. But Marina stood firm on this and flew down to the nearest tree.

In the corner of my eye, I thought I could make out a brief movement. But I couldn't see anything more precise. Only as another burst of thunder caused Marina to stagger for a moment did I see, that Goth had already caught up with us again. I tried to warn her but the Vampyrum was faster. With a single blow, he slashed his claws into Marina's fur and sliced her shoulder. She screamed in pain and rolled to the side, losing her grip on me, causing me to fall to the depth.

In panic, I did the next best thing I could think of and slipped out of my cloak to use it as a parachute. Strangely enough, it worked, and I landed halfway gently on a branch. However, I did not have time to rest. My feet barely touched the wood, when Goth threw himself at me with a mischievous laugh. Without thinking, I jumped out of his way just in time and onto one of the lower branches. The pain that went through my right leg was unbearable but the adrenaline rush prevented me from taking much notice of it.

The tree wasn't too high. Also, there was a small snow-covered thorn bush growing at the foot of it. I let myself drop into it with my parachute cloak. Unfortunately, the vines were very dense and almost tore my dress to shreds while scratching my skin in many places.

''Try hiding señorita. I'll get you anyway.''

I saw Goth flying around the thorn bush, waiting for an opportunity to grab me.

_''Shit, what am I going to do now?'' _I needed a plan to get out of this bush without getting caught by Goth. For a moment I thought about digging a tunnel on the ground but then immediately dropped the idea. _''I must think of something else.'' _The only question was: What?

A crackling sound to my left caught my attention. To my horror, I realized that Goth had grown weary of waiting and was now making his way through the thorns. I quickly crawled out of the bush in the opposite direction. My white cloak got tangled up with the vines. So I left it behind to lose no time.

As fast as I could I limped across the frozen ground in search of a hiding place. I heard Goth's angry growl behind me but didn't dare to turn around.

In a desperate attempt to find shelter, I tripped and fell to the ground. ''Damn it'', I cursed as pain shot through my body like lightning through the sky. Carefully I tried to get up, but my legs buckled underneath me. I felt exhaustion spreading through me. The adrenaline rush was still there, but not as strong as before. Once more I tried to stand up, but my legs were heavy like lead.

Without warning, I was seized by the neck and pushed back to the ground.

"Thought you could escape?'' I tried to free myself from Goth's grip, but the Vampyrum just squeezed harder and pressed my face to the floor, giving me trouble breathing. I struggled as hard as I could. But it was useless. Goth was too strong.

''Now, let's see. What shall I do with you?''

He let go of me for a split second and turned me roughly onto my back so I could look him in the face. ''How about I break your other leg, too? Or maybe an arm? How about both?''I struggled to get away from him, but he just grasped my left wrist and knelt on my stomach to keep me in place.

Though his intentions were thwarted, when something swooped down on his head. It was Shade. He grabbed hold of Goth's ears and pulled on them hard, causing the Vampyrum prince to yelp in surprise and move away from me.

Without hesitation, I made my escape. I felt sick from pain and fear. But I couldn't sit down and rest. With a brief glance over my shoulder, I saw Goth chasing Shade through the sky and thought to see Throbb or Orestes at some other point too. But I wasn't sure about it. Then suddenly the ground beneath me gave way, and I rolled down a slight slope. I hadn't been paying attention and had hurried straight towards the river. Fortunately, the place where I landed was frozen, so I was saved from a bath in the icy water.

I struggled to get back up on my feet but kept slipping over the smooth surface. And as if that wasn't bad enough, I was skidding away from the riverbank. The iced surface wasn't very big. If I wasn't careful, I ended up in the water. And that wasn't a good idea. Because of the storm, the river was stirred up, and the water was rushing downstream. Getting caught into it would be a life-threatening situation.

''Vanessa, watch out!''

Just in time, I rolled out of the way when Shade, still chased by Goth, dashed past me by a hair's breadth. The Vampyrum slashed at him in mid-flight but missed him. Instead, his claws pierced cracks into the ice, which quickly expanded. Terrified, I watched how the thin surface broke apart causing me to drift off on an ice floe.

Meanwhile, Goth had managed to catch Shade and pushed him back to the ground on another ice floe. I saw my friend struggling to break free. Goth hunched over him, ready to slit his throat. Without thinking, I took off my remaining shoe and hurled it towards the giant bat. The missile hit him right in the eye, leaving a bruise. ''Argh!'' Goth cursed and flinched, giving Shade time to get free and jump back into the air.

Furiously, Goth glared after him. Then he turned around to see what had thwarted his plan this time. As his gaze met me, I wished to disappear right on the spot. But before I could even think about what to do, Goth was back at my side with a few flaps of his wings and slammed my head to the ground. Bright spots danced around my vision and my head was screaming in agony. I could feel the pain spreading down my neck and into my back but I tried to ignore it. With one hand Goth squeezed my neck and tied off my air. I desperately tried to free myself by scratched his arm and squirming around. But it was no use.

Goth just laughed at my pitiful attempts to escape and only tightened his grip. I gagged. Breathing became scarce and dark spots formed in front of my eyes as Goth pressed down harder onto my neck. I prayed Shade or one of the others would appear and come to my aid. But none of my friends were anywhere to be seen.

Eventually, Goth loosened his grip for a moment and I gasped for air. With a mischievous grin, Goth leaned closer to me and dug his claw into the ice and slowly began to trace it around my head.

I flinched by the unbearable screeching sound that his claw made. Afterward, Goth licked the ice off his claw and hovered it above me, ready to strike. Thinking this was it, I pulled my good leg up and kicked Goth with full power where the sun didn't shine. His reaction was no surprise. Disbelief formed on his face before he tipped to the side, moaning in pain. I quickly crawled out of his reach and looked for a way back to the shore. Curled up in pain, Goth glared at me with hatred. Now it was clear. Gametime was over.

_''Well, I'm dead.''_

Much to my regret, Goth got back on his feet much too soon and lunged at me right away. I jumped out of his way and almost fell into the water. Luckily, I was able to stop myself just in time. The Vampyrum made a turn and went for another attack, but again I slipped out of its reach. The cold of the ice burned under my naked feet and my broken leg was throbbing with pain. Though, I didn't have time to pay attention to it. My life was in danger.

By now, the current on which our ice floe was drifting had picked up speed, and the storm was swirling river water over our feet. Over and over again Goth tried to catch me but each time I slipped past him before he could even put a scratch on me. Then another ice floe bumped against ours, causing it to tip. I yelped as I lost my footing and slipped into the freezing water. Scared to death I dug my fingernails into the ice and held on to the edge with all my strength. Again Goth appeared at my side but instead of helping me he just laughed evil and struck. His claws cut deeply into my shoulder. Thanks to the pain I let go of the ice and was immediately pushed underwater by a wave.

I fought my way up again, but the roaring masses of water pushed me back down again, taking away any sense of direction. Eventually, I bumped with my head against something hard and my vision went black for a second. Fortunately, it settled down, and I clung to what I had hit. It was one of the other broken ice surfaces. Laboriously, I pulled myself out of the water and collapsed on my stomach. Breathing heavily, I just lay there on the ice. Exhausted and tired to death. I would have loved to close my eyes and fall asleep but a noise made me look up.

Right above me, Orestes and Throbb were chasing each other in a matter of life and death. And as far as I could see Marina was helping our feathered friend as good as she could. But where the heck was Shade. Or better... where was Goth?

¡Maldito enano!

At those words, I got up on my knees and turned around. Behind me, Shade and Goth were locked in a fierce battle. Whereby the Silverwing, much like I had done before, mainly tried to avoid the cannibal's claws and teeth. Goth roared with fury as Shade then scratched his face with his own claws and attacked him once more. This time Shade wasn't fast enough and Goth's claws slashed his stomach.

''Shade!'' Horrified I watched how the young Silverwing fell to the ground and stopped moving. Immediately Goth was at his side, ready to kill him.

''Leave him alone!'' I cried out, causing Goth to turn his attention to me, his eyes sparkling with rage.

''Don't worry señorita'', he spat back to me, "I'll take care of you soon enough.''

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

The following sound of roaring water made me look around and with horror, I saw how the three of us were about to tumble towards a waterfall. As fast as I could I hurried from the ice floe where I was onto the one behind it where Goth and Shade were. The Vampyrum had not yet noticed the approaching danger and was lifting his hand to finish Shade off once and for all.

''No!'' I practically jumped right at Goth's back, causing him to lose his balance and stumble onto the ice.

''What the... get off!''

The giant bat tried to push me off but I clung on to him like a limpet and bit his nose. Goth roared in pain and tore at my dress and hair. But I still didn't let go. As the ice floe drifted further to the brink of the abyss, Goth and I rolled around on the frozen surface in a deadly embrace until we came dangerously close to the edge. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shade regain consciousness and watched him get up. His worn-out gaze wandering around. The moment he spotted me he gasped and wanted to rush to my aid, but the painful wound on his belly prevented him from doing so.

In the meantime, Goth punched me in the face leaving a deep scratch on my cheek. It could not go on like this. I knew I had to do something or Goth would kill me.

The sound of the waterfall was now impossible to ignore despite the storm.

And that's when I knew what I had to do. For a brief moment, I tore myself loose and yelled at Shade to get to safety. Then I clung on tight to Goth and rolled with him into the water on purpose. Only when the icy water masses collapsed over me once more did I finally let go.

I struggled hard to get back to the surface, but Goth grabbed me and pulled me underwater again. My mouth got filled with water and I could hardly breathe. Goth also had problems to keep himself afloat. And together we plunged down the waterfall.

To my relief, Shade managed to rise back into the air and rushed to my aid. I dived again for a moment but then succeeded in grabbing his feet so he could pull me out of the water. I was barely out when Goth's claws grabbed the hem of my dress and pulled me back. Shade tried to pull me out of his grip but the jolt of gravity was too strong for him. Along with me, he got dragged into the icy water. Blocks of ice flew around our ears and I had no clue what was up and down anymore. The last thing I saw was Goth getting hit by another lump of ice before he disappeared into the deep. Then everything went black.


	34. Hibernaculum

The first thing I did, as I came back to my senses, was spitting river water right at Marina's face. She was not very amused about it, but happy to see me back among the living.

''Vanessa. Thanks, Nocturna. You are alive.''

''Yes, I'm glad about it too,'' I sat up with a groan and looked around. The thunderstorm had ceased by now and warm rays of sunshine warmed my soaking body. ''Where are the others?'' I asked.

''Right here.'' On my right, I saw Shade and Orestes approaching. They looked tired but relieved to see me awake.

''We thought you two were done for when you went down the waterfall,'' said Orestes, ''By some miracle you both survived.''

''Fortunately,'' Marina added.

I nodded in agreement and then looked back at the river. ''What happened to Goth?''

''No idea. We saw how he was swept away by the current. But unlike you and Shade, he never resurfaced.''

''I see. But what about Throbb?''

Marina smiled, ''That guy fled head over heels into the woods after a lightning bolt almost singed his wings off. You should have seen Orestes, Vanessa. He was just amazing how he chased Throbb through the clouds and fought him off.''

''Oh, it wasn't all that special,'' the young owl said with a sheepish smile.

''Nonsense,'' Marina waved off, ''I bet if your father had seen you like that, he would burst with pride.''

Orestes didn't seem so sure about it. ''You think so?''

''I sure do,'' she said, causing him to smile.

Wow. With admiration, I looked at my animal friends. On the whole, they seemed to do all right. Orestes was missing some feathers and had an ugly scratch in the middle of his face plus some bite marks on his leg. Marina, on the other hand, looked a bit better. Apart from some cuts on her ears, face, and arms, her biggest concern was the wound on her shoulder. It didn't seem to be deep, and the bleeding had stopped mostly. But I still noticed that it caused her pain when she moved her arm.

My gaze wandered to Shade. His belly was smeared with blood and I began fearing the worst. But he assured me it looked worse than it was. He had also received several other wounds, such as many bruises and a deep tear in his wing membrane, right next to the healed one he got from a pigeon claw.

I didn't even want to know what I looked like. However, now that I was awake again, my body seemed to think it was a brilliant idea to inform me about all the pain it was in. I used to think a broken leg was bad enough by itself. As if! Thanks to the slippery ride on the ice, my leg felt like Goth had broken it twice. Speaking of Goth. Orestes said that he had not emerged from the floods and probably drifted further downstream. But did that really mean that we had finally gotten rid of him?

''What's wrong Vanessa?'' Concern flashed in Shade's eyes. He didn't miss how I stared at the water, lost in my thoughts.

''I'm fine. I was just wondering if maybe Goth has drowned.''

''Let's hope so'', Marina said with a sigh.

''Yes'', Determined Shade looked down at the current. ''This time we will definitely not see him again.''

''Are you sure? After all, you and Vanessa survived.''

''But only because we were lucky enough to be washed ashore.'' He shook his head. ''No. That Goth survived the fire towers was extraordinary enough. Even he can't be that lucky to survive two life-threatening situations.''

''And what if he did?'' I refused to imagine what Goth would do to us if he ever got his hands on us again after what happened today.

Shade folded his wings across his chest, looking even more determined. ''I'm telling you guys... Goth is dead. He has to. If not then I'll... eat a flower.

''If you say so.'' I shrugged my shoulders and hisses feeling pain in my left shoulder. Like Marina, I too had a nasty scratch there. Although mine was further to the front than hers. My face was also hurting a bit, and I shivered a little. My dress still covered the most important parts of my body but otherwise, it was mostly torn and tattered, especially at the hem.

''We should look for a shelter. The day is still long. Not that the owls spot us.

Marina was not wrong. Even though we finally got rid of the two giant bats, the danger from the owls still existed. It was important that we took hide and care of our wounds before we continued our way to Hibernaculum. Though I wouldn't have minded changing my wet clothes first.

''Oh, Vanessa, that reminds me...''

I gazed up to Marina wondering what she wanted and saw her holding my snow-white cloak. It was a bit torn and dirty, but otherwise still looking in a pleasant condition.

"I found it hanging from a thorn bush. Thought you might want it back.''

''I sure do. Thanks, Marina.'' I took the coat and wrapped it around me.

''Alright,'' she said with a smile, ''Then I suppose we'd better be on our way... Uh, Shade?''

The Silverwing gave no answer. Instead, just stared mesmerized at the waterfall in front of us. Ignoring Marina's calls, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Afterward, he opened his eyes again, frowning a bit. Then he called his echo-map up once more and grinned. ''Guys t-that's it. We made it! We finally made it''

Confused Marina, Orestes, and I looked at each other wondering if Shade might have gone mad. The latter paid no attention to us and kept cheering with joy.

''Shade would you please stop and tell us what this is about?'', Marina demanded to know.

"Easy. This here'', he pointed to the waterfall behind us, ''Is Hibernaculum.''

''What?''

''You sure?''

Shade nodded. "I double-checked it with my echo-map. "There's no doubt about it. This is Hibernaculum.''

"The waterfall...'' Could it really be? After all the trouble we have been through. We'd finally reached our goal.

Marina, however, did not seem convinced. ''Wait a minute Shade'', she said, ''If what you say is true and your colony's winter roost is behind this, then how do we get in? You don't expect us to just throw ourselves into the water, do you?''

Shade's enthusiasm evaporated. He hadn't thought of that.

Orestes walked closer. ''But it stands to reason, that if Hibernaculum lies behind the falls, then there simply has to be a way in.'' Thoughtfully, he looked closely at the running wall of water. Then he gasped and a smile spread on his beak. ''There!'' Without any explanation, he flew up to a boulder, that stuck out of the water in the upper half of the waterfall. Having no other choice, we followed him. Whereby I held on to Marina's feet with one arm while clasping my cloak with the other.

Together we perched on the branch that stuck out from the rock and gasped, seeing the entrance through the falls. ''Oh, wow!'' Shade looked around and then turned to us. ''Okay! I guess we go in through here.''

I grinned with excitement. Finally, we would meet Mercury and all the others again.

''Uh… I think I wait outside!'' Orestes yelled over the roar of the falls, looking uncertain if it would be ok for him to come inside as well. Being an owl and such.

''You sure?'' I asked. He nodded.

''Alright Orestes,'' said Shade, ''You just wait here. I'll come and get you. Let's go.''

With that, he let go of the branch and made his way into Hibernaculum. Marina right behind him with me in tow. Deeper and deeper we fly into the cave. Passing numerous stalagmites and stalactites. And all around there was a welcoming warm air, which felt wonderful compared to the icy winds outside.

''Oh, it's unbelievable!'' Marina sighed, and I had to agree with her. The size of this cave was amazing. I could see a lot of side passages on our way but we just kept flying straight ahead until we entered a gigantic room. There we landed on the stump of a stalagmite and looked around. Right above us were hundreds of bats. All Silverwings. Roosting together on the stalactites and the walls. Most of them were asleep, but a few dozen were lazily fluttering around. At first, no one took notice of us until I heard a familiar voice.

''Vanessa? Shade!'' I spun around and felt a pair of wings wrapping me into a tight embrace, causing me to let go of my cloak, that I still held in my hands. ''Oh boy, I can't believe it. You are alive.'' Only when Chinook released me and Shade did I realize that it was him. And to be honest, it surprised me a little. Not that I wasn't happy to see Chinook. I just never expected him to be the first bat to greet us so joyfully.

A bewildered laugh escaped from Chinook as he circled around us, getting the attention of the rest of the colony. They began chattering excitedly among themselves and showered us with endless questions like: ''Where do you come from?'', and ''Did you fly by day?'', and ''Are you crazy?'', but also, ''Wait, isn't that the boy who got lost in the storm?'', and ''Yes, that's him. And isn't that the human girl called Vanessa?''

Words could not describe how happy I was to finally see all those familiar faces again. Even though I had only lived among them for a short time, I still felt like reuniting with long-lost friends and relatives.

Shade chuckled, looking gleefully as well and raised his voice to every one to hear. ''Yes, it's us. We got lost but we have found our way back.''

''Shade?'' Ariel's voice rose from the noise. ''Shade!''

Shade circled around with excitement, looking for his mother. Eventually, he found her, roosting on a wall, and flew over to her as fast his wings could carry him. Moments later he was locked into her loving embrace and snuggled into her soft fire-colored mane.

''Oh, I thought never I'd never see you again!'' Ariel held her son tight into her arms and cried happy tears.

''Vanessa!'' At the sound of my name, I looked up and saw Mercury fluttering down to me, smiling brightly. Another male with indigo fur, darker colored wings, a soft purple muzzle, storm grey eyes, and soft violet hair and mane accompanied him. On his left forearm glittered a silver band. They barely landed when Mercury hurried towards me hugging me tightly.

''Thanks Nocturna, you're alive.''

I chuckled softly and hugged him back. I really missed the Silverwing messenger, who I have to thank for meeting the Silverwings in the first place and who taught me all kinds of things during the time I lived with them.

''I'm so glad to see you again,'' he said and cupped my face in hands. I thought I saw tears sparkling in the corner of his eyes, but he blinked them away and hugged me again. My wounded shoulder protested a bit, but I ignored it. Eventually, Mercury let go off me as the other male walked closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. ''It's ok Mercury. You might crush her,'' he said with a chuckle.

''I would never'', Mercury replied, softly laughing as well.

I watched them both curiously, wondering who the other male was.

''Now, how about you introduce us to each other dear?''

''Oh, right. Vanessa, this here'', Mercury wrapped a wing around the male next to him, ''is my mate Icarus. Icarus, this is Vanessa.''

Icarus smiled. ''It's nice to finally meet you.''

''Nice to meet you too,'' I said while feeling surprised about the fact that Mercury had a mate who was also a male just like him. ''I thought you said scouts can't have a mate?''

''A female mate'', Mercury corrected me, ''Though, it's true that they prefer mostly single males as the messenger for the females over the summer.''

''But why?''

''Being around their loved one could distract them from their job'', Marina interfered, ''I know this from my colony. We picked our male scouts for the summer in the same principle.''

Mercury nodded in agreement. ''Many colonies work it that way.'' He then turned to the Brightwing and blinked. ''Say, who are you by the way?''

''Her name is Marina'', I said, introducing her to Mercury and Icarus. ''She is a Brightwing. Shade and I met her on an island after getting lost in the storm. And if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be here today.''

''That's right,'' Shade added who flew down to us, followed by his mother Ariel. Marina smiled at the compliment and even blushed a bit too.

''Oh, Vanessa. I'm so glad to see you,'' she said and gave me a hug. Then her eyes went back and forth between her son and me. ''You have to tell us what...'' she gasped, noticing the gash on Shade's stomach and the dry blood on his fur. ''You are hurt!''

''What happened?'' asked Mercury, who furrowed his brows in concern while checking the wound on my shoulder.

''We eh, came across some difficulties during our way to Hibernaculum.''

''We need to take care of this. You three look like you got into a fight.''

''Something like that. But that's not important right now,'' I said with impatience and looked at Shade. "We have urgent news the owls...''

''Good point'', a harsh voice interrupted me. I didn't need to look up to know it was Bathsheba. The only bat I did not wish to see again. ''Ask the lawbreaker and that tiny human why the owls are hunting us.''

''Not just owls'', Shade called up. ''Wolves too!''

The Silverwings gasped.

Marina stepped up next to Shade, ''Brutus thinks Silverwings are killing owls.''

''But the murderers are giant cannibal bats!'' I added, causing an uproar among the bats. ''There were two of them they planned to get here and eat all of you but we got rid of them.''

''Brutus doesn't believe they exist. He and his owls are on their way here,'' said Shade, ''We have to abandon Hibernaculum right now before they get here!''

Bathsheba growled, having enough of all this nonsense. ''First, we lose Tree-Heaven and now we shall abandon our roost? Give them to the owls!'' she screeched, her voice echoing throughout the cave while pointing her claw at me and Shade.

Immediately Ariel and Mercury wrapped their wings protectively around her us. ''No way'', she snapped back up, while Mercury barred his teeth at the chubby elder. Under no circumstances would they allow anyone to take us away. They would even fight if they had to.

''But we are telling the truth!'' Marina protested, though no one seemed to listen to her.

''I'll prove it!'' Shade pulled away from his mother and lifted my arm into the air, showing everyone the infected bite mark on my wrist. I cringed as I heard them gasping at what they saw.

Mercury looked shocked seeing the wound. ''How did you get this?'' he asked.

''It was Goth'', Shade answered for me and lowered my arm. ''He is one of the giant bats. Today we got locked into a battle with him and his cousin Throbb. He vanished after falling into the river.''

''So, with other words. He is dead now?'' asked Icarus.

I nodded. ''We believe so. But his cousin might still be around.''

Bathsheba scoffed, not feeling impressed at all. ''Cannibals. A likely story'', she said.

Shade frowned up at her. ''It's true. I got another witness,'' he insisted, then flew out of the cave before anyone could ask what he was doing.

Moments later he returned with Orestes and the Silverwings went into panic mode. They began flying around, screaming with fear or tried hiding behind stalactites and cracks in the walls.

Mothers wrapped their wings around their children while their mates bared their teeth at the owl, ready to protect their loved ones. Ariel, Mercury, and Icarus also took cover

''Children, what have you done?!'' Shade's mother exclaimed, placing her hands on her face as she stared fearfully down at the owl.

''Everyone, this is Orestes!'' Shade pointed to him. ''He is Brutus's son and he is our friend! He has seen the giant bats too!''

''You brought Brutus's son to our winter roost?'' A male, looking like an adult version of Chinook demanded to now.

Orestes flinched at his glare and watched the other bats nervously.

Frieda frowned but stood calm like always. ''Mercury, quickly scan outside to see if there are any more owls.''

Mercury nodded and flew off. Intentionally bumping into Oreste's shoulder as he flew by, causing the bird to lose its balance for a moment.

''You don't understand!'' Shade cried out in desperation. ''He saved my life!'' Unfortunately, no one listened to him.

Seconds later Mercury rushed back into the cave, fear on his face. ''Wolves!'' he cried out, stopping in front of Frieda. ''There are two outside!''

''Did they see you?''

Mercury shook his head and Frieda closed her eyes letting out a heavy sigh.

Bathsheba smirked with satisfaction. ''How are you going to save us now, Frieda?'' she taunted the leader and crossed her wings across her chest.

Great. That certainly didn't make things easier. If only they'd start listening to us. I turned to my friends wondering what we should do now, as Orestes rose into the air grabbing Shade and me with each of his talons. With a surprised scream stuck into my throat, I and Shade got carried out of the cave. The shocked and desperate cries of Ariel, Mercury, and the rest of the bats right behind us.

* * *

''Orestes, what are you doing?'' asked Shade but the owl gave him no answer. Two wolves were lurking around the riverbank. To our dismay, Orestes flew straight at them and landed on a snow-covered rock.

"I uh found these stragglers," he announced. The wolves looked at each other, raising an eyebrow.

''Aren't you a little small to be out of patrol?" The female wolf asked. Orestes just glare at her not answering her question.

"What's your rank?" her companion asked growling.

"I'm Hercules'', Orestes replied without hesitation. ''Commander of the second squadron. Now move along I have a bat and a tiny human to torture."

I stared at him as if he went crazy or something.

"Tell me where the Silverwings are you filthy vermin!" He demanded, then stabbed me in the back with his beak, making me cry out in pain.

''Vanessa!'' Shade gasped.

The young owl looked guilty for a second and whispered a quick apology to me. Shade and I looked at him puzzled as he winked at us shortly. I realized that Orestes was putting up an act and smirked at Shade, who grinned back, having figured it out as well.

"I said talk!" He ordered. His face changed back into a scowl.

''Okay! Okay, I will tell you!'' said Shade pretending to surrender. He hesitated for a moment, causing Orestes to now poke him in the back. Though this time more gentle. Still, he cried out to make the wolves think he got hurt.

''They're- they're.. roosting near… the-the river!'' Shade stammered, trying to think of a lie.

Orestes grabbed a nearby stick and jabbed Shade with it, making him cry out in pain once more.

''Stop it!'' I cried out. ''He is telling the truth. They roosting near a hollow tree...near a..uh.a boulder.''

I made sure to raise my voice loud enough for the wolves to hear. They were smirking at each other and chuckled as if they were enjoying the little show. Taking a short glance up I noticed Marina, Ariel, Mercury, Icarus, Frieda plus a few others hanging outside of Hibernaculum, watching us too.

To make this whole performance more convincing, Orestes turned his back on the wolves and covered me and Shade with his wings. Then there was a loud crack and I screamed. ''AAAAH! MY LEG!''

Orestes moved his wings away from us again. Revealing the sight on me as I clutched onto my right leg, whimpering in pain.

''Please stop'', begged Shade. ''I'll tell you everything. But please stop hurting my friend!''

''Then talk bat. Otherwise, I might break your little friend's other leg.''

''Okay, okay. T-They are roosting near a large oak tree with trunk rot,'' he said.

Orestes looked pleased. ''You heard him'', he addressed the wolves, ''Get going!''

Growling with pleasure both canines turned tail and disappeared into the forest. As soon as we were sure they were gone, Orestes and Shade pulled out the broken pieces of the stick from under their wings, and together we three started laughing out we returned to Hibernaculum. As it turned out, the Silverwings had witnessed the whole thing and after a short debate with the other elders Frieda allowed Orestes to stay with us.

Bathsheba, however, was not so happy about it.

''Shade, the human, the Brightwing, and the owl staying here? Is nothing sacred?!"

''Extraordinary times create extraordinary circumstances,'' Frieda explained calmly as she hung with the other elders. And Shade, Marina, Orestes, and I smiled hearing this. ''The only question that remains is whether we will abandon Hibernaculum.'' She then raised her voice for everyone to hear. ''The council of elders will now meet to make a decision!''

I noticed Bathsheba smirking with glee as she flew after the female chief elder. ''We have to decide about the traitors quickly, Frieda'', she said.

Frieda stared at the other bat coldly. ''You are no longer welcome on the council.'' Then she and the other elders flew off, leaving a shocked and speechless Bathsheba behind.

_''Ha'',_ I thought with delight,_ ''Serves you right you witch''_

* * *

While the elders were discussing what to do next, Ariel insisted that our wounds are taking care of before we started telling them everything about our adventure.

In the meantime, my tattered dress was hanging over one of the stalagmites to dry. To cover my naked body and to keep myself warm, I wrapped my cloak tightly around me while the healers of the colony cared for my wounds. I hissed in pain when one of them examined my ankle.

''I thought, breaking your leg was just an act'', Icarus said, noticing my reaction.

''I was,'' Shade explained. ''But her leg got already broken before. The giant bat called Goth did that to her.''

''Giant bats, Cannibals... I can't believe those really exist,'' Ariel said, looking worried.

Shade sighed. ''I know mom. But they do.''

''Well, if they are so fierce, how did you manage to get rid of them?'' asked Chinook.

Marina smirked at him. ''Easy, Shade used his Echo-projection.''

''Yeah right,'' he laughed, ''Only tiger moths can do that.''

Apparently, Chinook hadn't changed a bit. He was just as arrogant as ever. Perhaps it was time to teach him a lesson. I grinned secretly and glanced at Shade, who rolled his eyes with a sigh. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated. Seconds later a gigantic tiger moth materialized directly behind Chinook, who was still talking.

''Yeah, and even if he could. He wouldn't fool anybody.''

''Oh really'', I said, ''Then why don't you take a look around and tell us what that is?''

''Huh? What do you...?'' Chinook did as I said and screamed seeing the giant moth. In panic he stumbled against Todd and made them both fall to the ground.

Soon the rest of the colony began to freak out as well.

I chuckled softly. ''Okay, I think that's enough Shade.''

The Silverwing reopened his eyes and grinned at the stunned faces of Chinook and Todd.

All around us, the colony started muttering about what just happened. Hundreds of eyes stared down on him Looking amazed and confused. Shade chuckled a bit as well about everyone's reaction. Then he noticed the stern faces of his mother, Frieda, and Orion, the chief elder of the males, who both returned from their meeting with the rest of the elders.

For a moment Shade looked sorry and I worried if they might be angry at him. But then their stern expressions faded and got replaced with admiration.

''Where did you learn to do that, Shade?'' his mother asked him.

''An old bat named Zephyr taught me.''

Frieda and Orion exchanged a short amused look. Both knowing exactly who Shade was talking about. I turned to my friends exchanging a smile with them too.

Eventually, Frieda raised her voice to the colony. ''The council has decided. We must leave Hibernaculum immediately.''

The colony once again erupted into turmoil:

"But we've only just arrived.''

"We can't just leave.''

"Where shall we go?''

Shade ignored the voices around us and fluttered over to Frieda.

''We have to find Ursa'', he said, ''the white Kermode bear. She will help us.''

A Silverwing male, who I learned to be the identical twin brother of Chinook's dad Plato approached him with an amused smile. ''Taught by Zephyr, befriend by bears?'' He placed a hand over Shade's shoulder, ''your father will be proud of you.''

_''Wait. What?''_

Shade shook his head, looking more than confused. ''Huh?! I thought my father was...dead?'' He turned to his mother with questioning eyes. Ariel looked down and let out a deep sigh. ''I always intended to tell...''

''Tell me what? That's my father was actually alive this whole time? Why did you lie to me?''

''Because I wasn't sure about it,'' Ariel retorted. Tears sparkling in her eyes. "Ever since you learned to fly you've been bubbling over with reckless ideas. If I had told you that your father had just disappeared and not died. Then maybe you would have tried to go looking for him.'' She shook her head. "I couldn't let that happen. I didn't want to lose you too.''

Shade was still shocked. ''But...''

''Shade,'' Marina said, flying over to him. ''Your mother only meant well. I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you.''

He sighed. ''I know.''

''But where did he go?'' asked Orestes while looking curious at the bats.

I noticed Icarus fidgeting beside me. He looked like he was gonna say something, but held himself back.

''Something wrong?'' I asked him.

''Uh, what? No. I...''

''Icarus'', Mercury looked his mate directly into the eyes and wrapped a wing around his shoulder. ''I think its time to tell us what happened to Cassiel.''

''But Mercury...''

Shade approached. ''You know my dad?'' he asked Icarus, who nodded at him. ''I'm actually one of his close friends. I was with him on the night where he ... disappeared.''

''Where did he go?'' Shade got very excited and bombarded the other Silverwing with questions. ''What happened to him? Why didn't he return?''

''I...I'm sorry kid. I promised your dad I would tell anyone.''

He tried to retreat but Shade wouldn't back off. "Please tell me," he begged. "I am his son. I have the right to know what happened to him.''

"Icarus,'' Frieda spoke up. ''The boy is right. If you know where Cassiel flew off to, then tell us.''

Icarus still seemed uncertain, but when Orion also asked him to speak, he finally gave in.

''There was a human building,'' he began reluctantly. "Hanael saw it from afar last spring. He said there were strange metal poles on the roof. But when he flew there again to take a second look, he never came back. Cassiel went next. I... I had to promise him that I wouldn't tell anyone, it was too dangerous.''

"He's there," breathed Shade, "He has to.'' He turned to me. "Vanessa, do you have any idea what kind of building this might be?''

"Sorry, Shade. So spontaneously I can't say it. Maybe I'll know it when I see it.''

"Which you probably never will. Unless you go there of course," Orestes said.

"I will.''

Ariel looked at her son in shock. ''But Shade...''

''I'm sorry mom. But if my dad is truly out there, then I have to go looking for him. Just like you said.''

Ariel let out a sigh and then nodded. ''I know. And that's why I'll be coming with you.''

''Really?''

''Me too,'' said Frieda, ''I may be old, but this is a journey I'm willing to make before I die.''

''You sure about this?'' Orion asked her, looking unsure about this. ''What about the owls?''

''I know it will be a risk, but I have the feeling, that by searching for Cassiel we might as well find a way to stop this war.''

''I will go with her father'', said Hector.

''Me too'', added his brother.

''I'm coming too'', declared Icarus. Mercury didn't look happy about it. ''But..''

''I have to'', he insisted, ''I'm the only one who knows the way to that building.''

''I'm coming too,'' said another voice. "'Me too,'' cried another. Soon the whole cave was filled with excited voices, male and female, young and old.

Shade was speechless, he never expected such a reaction.

"Eh, if there' s any chance of finding a way to get my father to stop all this war talk, then I'd love to go with you as well,'' said Orestes, ''But only if you don't mind.''

Shade laughed. "Of course you can come. We wouldn't dream of having an adventure without you, Orestes. " The young owl smiled at him thankfully and Shade turned to me. "What about you? I can understand if you'd rather stay here after all you've been through.''

"Are you kidding? Of course, I'm coming with you.'' It was completely out of the question for me. ''We might even find a way to get me back to my original size.''

"I'm sure we will.'' At last, Shade turned to Marina. She had moved a little away from us and looked a somewhat melancholy. It was only now that I realized she hadn't said anything for a long time. Worried, Shade and I looked over at her.

"Is everything all right, Marina?''

"Sure.'' She cleared her throat. "Congratulations to both of you. After all this time, you've finally managed to get home.''

I didn't quite like the way she said it, and neither did Shade.

"You... you're not planning to leave us, do you?''

"I could seek out Penelope and the other banded bats. I can't go back to my own colony. You know why. " She raised her banded arm as if to add emphasis to her words.

"But... do you want to?" I asked.

She sounded a little angry. "Well, I guess I have to go somewhere, don't I?''

"No, you don't," cried Shade. "You can stay here with me! With us! Can't she, Frieda?''

''Of course, she can,'' said the elder.

''Really?'' Marina asked, ''You don't mind having a Brightwing among you?''

"Silverwings," cried Frieda. "Do we have a home for one of the Brightwings who has distinguished herself by such boldness, loyalty, and bravery?''

''Yes,'' said Ariel eagerly, ''please stay!'' And her invitation was picked up first by dozens, then by hundreds of bats, until the cave echoed with the sound of the wings applauding in the air.

"This is your new colony," Shade told her, "as long as you want it, that is.''

She smiled. ''Then I'm coming, too. To find your father and get to the bottom of all sorts of secrets we still need to reveal.'' Shade and I smiled. Feeling happy about her decision.

The young Silverwing would have preferred to fly off immediately, but Frieda persuaded him to wait until all our wounds had mostly healed and we had recovered our strength. And to tell the truth, I didn't mind. I was still sick and with an inflamed arm and a broken leg it would not be a good idea to start a journey into the unknown.

Therefore, we stayed at Hibernaculum for the upcoming nights, told them about our adventures, and waited for our injuries to heal. In addition, Ariel announced that Shade had grown. And as I looked at him, I had to agree with her. He was now the same size as Marina, maybe even a little bigger. However, he was by far not as big as Chinook, but that didn't seem to bother him much anymore.

On an early winter morning, I was lying on a leaf-cushioned rock slab close to a wall, and listened to the sound of the waterfall flowing past the cave entrance, hiding and protecting all of us in here. At least until the owls would come here. Frieda had decided that only a small squad should go in search of Cassiel, while the rest of the colony went to Ursa and enlisted her help in finding a new winter roost. In addition, some messengers were to select to find and alert other bat colonies. Hopefully, this went okay.

As the Silverwings and my friends slept peacefully around me, I listened to the sound of softly dripping stalactites and the steady breaths of Icarus and Mercury near me.

I tried to find some sleep myself, but my own thoughts kept me from doing so. I just couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened to me these past weeks. I got shrunk to the size of a mouse, met bats, drifted out to sea in a storm, traveled to the highest heights, and deepest depths despite my fear of heights. I flew through thunder and lightning, fought giant cannibal bats, and most importantly: I made the three best friends you could ever imagine. And in a few nights, the four of us would set off on even greater adventures. And to be honest...

I couldn't wait for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And That's it. You reading right folks, this here is the final chapter of Promise of the Night. Honestly, I would never have guessed I would actually finished it. I've been working on it years. ^^;
> 
> Now, I know you might think: What? How can this be the end?
> 
> But don't worry. I'm will start working on the first chapter of the sequel as soon as I can. In fact, I can't even wait to start writing it. :D ^^
> 
> The reason I gave this story a more open ending is because I wanted to the events of Sunwing following right after it. Though, writting it all in one story would have been too much. Therefore I'm splitting them into two.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading my story and look forward to see how it continues. :)


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